Sol Invictus
by Lunar Wings
Summary: [Solangelo, set between BoO and ToA] With Apollo missing in action, the Sun Chariot cannot be pulled across the sky; thus, the world is plunged into an eternal state of nighttime. His son, Will Solace, takes it upon himself to awaken Helios - the original solar god - and bring light back to the world. But how do you revive a god who has long since faded away? Full summary inside.
1. The Shattered Sun

**Full Summary:** (Set between Blood of Olympus and The Hidden Oracle, high probability of spoilers for both. Rated for language and violence.)

With Apollo missing in action, the Sun Chariot cannot be pulled across the sky; thus, the world is plunged into an eternal state of nighttime. His son, Will Solace, takes it upon himself to awaken Helios - the original god of the sun - and bring light back to the world. But first he has to figure out how to revive a god that has long since faded away, and he can't do it alone.

Nico di Angelo may be having frequent nightmares, but that doesn't stop him from joining Will on his mission (only to make sure the son of Apollo doesn't get himself killed, obviously, that's the only reason, he swears). But between said nightmares, a pair of jokester demigods who don't seem to be taking this seriously, and a shady and callous Hunter of Artemis along for the ride, Nico might've signed up for more than he bargained for. Did we mention that he's still banned from shadow travel and other assorted "Underworld-y powers"? Because Nico's still a little salty about that, especially considering his growing attraction to the boy who made that order in the first place...

" _Get in the car, losers, we're going questing._ " - Nico, probably

 **A/N:** So hey guys, bet y'all thought you'd seen the last of me. This is the first Actual Fanfic I've written in like six years so I'm suuuuuper rusty. Hopefully It won't reflect too much in my writing. Anyway, this fic is crossposted to my AO3 account ( _lunardance_ ) with a few choice extras that I can't show here on . ;D

Hope you guys enjoy! Reviews and favs are loved!

 **A/N the Second, 5/6/16:** Soooo after having read The Hidden Oracle, I've decided to retcon a couple of things to make this more canon-compliant. Nothing major; if you've read this before, you'll just notice a lack of a certain deity in this chapter. If you're here for the first time, then welcome!

* * *

 **Sol Invictus**

After everything he'd been through, Nico had come to appreciate the sunlight a bit more.

There was no sunlight in the Underworld, or in the deepest depths of Tartarus. There was no sunlight in the bronze jar that Otis and Ephialtes had held him captive in. The sunlight had completely left his world the moment that Percy had told him what had happened to his sister.

However, now he readily accepted its presence, even _reveled_ in it.

He sat there, atop the roof of his cabin - his new favorite place, he'd found, since beginning the renovation of Cabin 13. Nobody could find him up there, nobody could bother him. He was alone with his thoughts, alone with the mid-August sun bearing down on him.

The light washed over his body, warming him from head to toe; it cupped his face with the gentlest of touches. The crisp afternoon breeze combed through his thick hair like fingers, and for all intents and purposes, he should've felt calm, he should've felt _safe_.

But he didn't.

Nico knew it was going to happen, and it wasn't a matter of what, but _when._

His palms were sweaty, his hair stood on end. He forced himself to keep his eyes focused on the sky, watching, waiting. _It's bad for your eyesight_ , Jason had told him, _everyone_ had been telling him that since the day he was born. But it wasn't enough to deter him - he _had_ to see it with his own eyes.

Everything came crashing down.

This was what he'd been waiting for. He pushed himself up from his spot on the roof and bit back a scowl as the sun itself broke and crumbled, shattering into a million pieces like glass thrown to the floor. He stood his ground as the blazing shards fell from the sky, fell to all corners of the earth, fell _toward him_ , burning holes in his clothes and embedding themselves in his skin.

There was no pain. With sunlight, there was never pain. It was what came afterward that made him cry out.

The sky darkened as the shards began to cool, growing darker and darker until there was but one tiny pinprick of light hanging where the sun used to be.

Nico's surroundings were pitch black. The splinters of light pulsed beneath his skin, illuminating his veins and syncing themselves with his rapidly quickening heartbeat. And around his legs, he could feel that familiar freezing haze creeping in.

He was sinking into the shadows again, as he was wont to do, but all he could feel now was sheer terror.

 _Help_ , he tried to call out. But, as always, his voice failed him as the tendrils of darkness enveloped him and crept down his throat.

Try as he might, there was no breaking his bonds. From the faint light of the shards beneath his skin, he could see his body literally being erased as he sank further into the black depths.

 _Give in, Nico,_ that voice spoke from inside his head, from all around him, from the very core of his being. _The shadows are your friend, are they not? So cooperate with them._

 _Become one with them._

 _Become the shadows._

That tiny spot of light hanging in the blackness had begun to flicker. Nico could feel his pulse racing, throbbing in his head so hard that his vision went dark entirely. All that was left was that painful pounding, beating so loudly in his head that his consciousness finally wavered.

That was when he jolted awake.

Gasping for breath, he sat up in his bed and wrapped his arms around himself. "It's okay," he muttered quietly, "it was just a dream." That same one he'd been having all week, but a dream nonetheless.

Once his breathing got under control, he reached for the clock on the nearby nightstand. 12:38, it read. The room was still completely dark save for the faint green torches on the walls. Was it really only midnight? It felt like he'd been asleep for hours, and the nightmare hadn't wasted any time before kicking in.

Heaving a sigh, he rested his head in his hands. He could still hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

His heartbeat sure sounded a lot like a door.

Nico shook his head for a moment as he regained his bearings. Yeah, that was definitely the door.

"What in the _world_ …" he growled under his breath as he got out of bed, pulling on the nearest pair of pants he could find. "I'm coming, hold your pegasi…" When he opened the door and met the sky-blue eyes of Will Solace, he was simultaneously surprised and _not surprised at all_. "Solace, are you out of your _mind?_ " he snapped incredulously.

Will simply raised a hand in greeting. "Morning, Death Boy. Did I interrupt your beauty sleep?"

Nico buried his face in his palms. "Okay, for one, _stop calling me that_ , and for two, it's half past midnight! What are you even thinking, I'm surprised that the harpies haven't eaten you a-"

Suddenly, what was happening _behind_ Will registered in Nico's mind. "- _live?_ "

The entire camp was bustling. Every single cabin was illuminated, yet it was still so dark outside that he could easily see the stars. But there was a lingering sense of tension in the air, he could tell that much from how frantically the other campers were addressing each other.

That feeling that Nico always got when something was very, _very_ wrong bubbled up in the pit of his stomach. "...Will, what's going on?"

Will rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look on his face. " _Yeeeeeeah_ , about that… Chiron's calling a counselor meeting. Thought you might want to be awake for it."

Nico blinked at him, still trying to process the information. After a moment, he sighed in defeat and rested his head against the door frame. "Yeah, okay. Just… give me a moment."

* * *

As the two of them walked toward the Big House, Nico couldn't keep himself from glancing around at all the ruckus. There was a large flock of campers surrounding the Athena cabin, as if that was where all of the answers were. Many were up at the dining pavilion, chowing down like it wasn't the middle of the night.

Nico resigned himself to the idea that he wouldn't get any answers until they all spoke with Chiron. He turned to Will, raising an eyebrow. "Did you _seriously_ think that pounding out the Arceus theme against my door was the best way to wake me up?"

Will smirked over at him, not bothering to hold back his snort. "Oh my gods, you are _such_ a nerd for recognizing that. I think you played a little too much Pokemon while you were stuck in the infirmary."

"Says the one who beat the song out on my door!"

"Dude, you were at the Elite Four by the end of the second day."

"You're the one who loaned me the game in the first place!"

"You asked if I still had it!"

Nico groaned, tossing his head back in frustration. "Look, Solace, just because you let me borrow it that one time when I was ten-"

"Man, you guys fight like an old married couple," Percy's voice interrupted.

Nico turned in the direction of the voice. There he was, Percy Jackson himself, propped up against the wall of the Big House. The door next to him was open, and from what Nico could tell, a lot of the other counselors had already gathered there. "Shut it, Jackson," Nico retorted, his ears burning.

Will simply cackled in response, punching the air in victory. "Solace 1, di Angelo 0," he laughed, before turning his attention toward the son of Poseidon. "'Sup, Percy? Everyone else there already?"

Percy nodded, motioning for them to follow him inside. "Yeah, we're all here, we've just been waiting for you kids to show up."

Nico crossed his arms in a huff as the three of them stepped inside. Sure enough, the other head counselors were present, as well as Chiron, who had a worried look in his eyes. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary: Clovis was naturally asleep, Nyssa was filling in for Leo - Nico felt a pang of sadness at the thought - and Jason and Piper were having an animated discussion about the former's traveling plans.

He didn't notice the stranger present until he took his seat at the table.

He recognized the girl as a Hunter of Artemis, leaned against the wall looking like she would rather be anywhere else at the moment. She twirled a strand of platinum blonde hair around her finger, her pale blue eyes focused rather intensely on the opposite wall. Nico couldn't help but frown at her presence - did that mean the other Hunters were here?

Judging from the amount of tension in the room, he had a feeling that _some_ sort of crisis was happening. Again. It had barely been _two weeks_ since Gaea's defeat. The camp really, _really_ did not need another crisis right now, much less so soon after the last one.

Chiron's voice broke his thoughts. "Everyone here?" the centaur asked, scanning the room. "Let's begin, then."

"Alright," Clarisse spoke up, slamming her hands on the table. "Can someone _please_ explain what in Hades is going on?"

"I don't think any of us really know, Clarisse," Annabeth replied, checking the time on her wristwatch. "It doesn't make any sense whatsoever - it's almost one and it's still dark outside."

Nico raised an eyebrow at the observation. "Why wouldn't it be," he asked, "it's one in the morning?"

"Uh… not exactly, Nico," Jason said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "It's one in the afternoon."

Nico gave Jason a blank stare. He turned to look out a window, still seeing the night sky above, and then looked back to Jason. "What."

Annabeth groaned and rubbed at her temples. "Right now, the popular theory among my siblings is that because Apollo is technically AWOL now-"

"'Cause Zeus kind of vaporized him for no real reason after we defeated the giants," Percy cut in.

"-then there's nobody around to drive the sun chariot, so it's just… always night now. But that's not how it _works_ , speaking from a scientific standpoint. The sun can't just stop rising like that, it'd throw literally everything off balance."

Nico could see Will tense up from the corner of his eye. He hadn't known what exactly had happened at the Acropolis, but from what he'd learned from the others, it didn't sound good. Zeus had, for some reason, pinned the entire blame on Apollo and decided that he should be punished for it.

He could sympathize with the blond, though. It really sucked not knowing where a parent had ended up.

"I don't think there's a scientific reason behind this," Will spoke up, his voice unusually somber.

Lou Ellen of Hecate cabin nodded from Will's other side. "Whatever it is, it's got the Mist working overtime," she replied, "I can _feel_ how thick it is outside of the camp grounds. It's trying to cover something up, but whatever it is, it's so _vast_ that it's having to work extra hard."

Clarisse growled and crossed her arms, sitting heavily in her seat. "So, what? That's it? Apollo's gone and that means no more sun? I can't _believe_ this."

Chiron heaved a sigh and stroked his beard for a moment before gesturing to the pale Hunter leaning against the wall. "Lady Artemis has sent one of her Hunters along with a message. She may be able to shed some light on the situation."

Without a word, the Hunter nodded and reached into her silver jacket, pulling out a scroll. She moved toward the table and carefully unfurled the scroll before spreading it out over the table. The scroll started glowing with a faint silver light, and before long, a small holographic projection of Artemis herself stood over it.

"As many of you may know," she began, "my brother has been punished for his transgressions against our father Zeus. As of right now, our father is undecided on what said punishment will entail, so Apollo is currently in a state of divine limbo. Quarantined, if you will.

"Undoubtedly, you've noticed the effects that his absence has brought upon your world. There is no sun. My own moon has become shrouded with darkness. The stars are now solely responsible for providing light to your sky. Which is why I have decided to issue my own personal quest to any demigod who wishes to step forward to rectify the problem. My only requirement is that the messenger I have sent, Mena, accompany you on the quest.

"There is something very dark and very dangerous afoot. With my brother missing in action, dark forces are now able to rise from the pits of Tartarus and cast their shadows upon the world. There is no telling when Apollo will be allowed to rise again, so what I am proposing is a backup plan of sorts - to awaken our original solar deity, to bring his light back to the world until Apollo can be reinstated."

She said no more, and the hologram briefly flickered before disappearing entirely.

"Original solar god?" Piper asked, a confused look on her face. "Does she mean Helios?"

The name definitely rung a bell in Nico's head. "But he's faded, isn't he," he started, "him and Selene. Apollo told me that much when he brought me to camp, I remember he said that the Romans wanted to 'downsize'..."

"So, what does that mean for us?" Nyssa spoke up. "If a god has been allowed to fade, then there's no bringing them back, is there?"

"There may be," Chiron responded. "It is unknown if it will work for a god, but I recall a demigod once Googling the sisters of Medusa, allowing them to fade back into existence…"

Percy stood up, placing his palms flat on the table. "Yeah, _yeah_ , I remember this!" He glanced around the room. "Annabeth, Nico, you remember, right? When we found Pan in the Labyrinth, and he said he should've been dead like two thousand years ago but 'cause all of the satyrs still believed in him, he wasn't able to fade."

Nico frowned at the mention of the Labyrinth. He definitely remembered the encounter with Pan, but the god had barely acknowledged his presence. "Yeah, I remember."

"I do too," Annabeth said with a nod. "Where are you going with this, Percy?"

The son of Poseidon fixed his eyes on Nico. "Apollo said that the Romans assigned the roles of Helios and Selene to him and Artemis, yeah?" Nico quietly nodded in confirmation, and Percy turned to Jason. "Jason, bro, you think that if we took this over to Jupiter like 'hey, y'all dropped the ball on the whole sun and moon god thing', then we might be able to like… make them fade back, or something?"

Jason looked thoughtful as he rubbed his chin. "Maybe not in so many words, bro, but it might be worth a shot. It's not that the Romans were _lazy_ about Sol and Luna, though. They actually believed that there were two sun gods - Sol Indiges wasn't really important to to them, unfortunately, and he did end up fading. But then in the late Roman Empire, there were a lot of cults springing up around a second god, Sol Invictus." He shrugged and crossed his arms. "But it was different with Luna. She wasn't really regarded as a distinct goddess so much as an epithet of Diana or Juno."

"So eventually, they both faded out," Will mused, "but because these cults of Helios started showing up, then he kind of came back?"

Jason shrugged again and pulled his glasses off, cleaning the lenses with his shirt. "I guess so. The later Roman emperors really favored Sol Invictus too, if that helps anything."

"So it stands to reason that if enough people acknowledged Helios as a solar deity, then he'd fade back in, yeah?"

Nico quietly watched Will as he exchanged words with Jason. There was a look of determination on his face, the same kind of look that he'd given Nico only weeks before during the battle with Gaea. That was one of the things that had caught Nico's attention - the sense of stubbornness gave him such a commanding presence that even Nico had done as he'd said.

But with it, came an odd sort of uneasiness. "Wait a minute, Solace, you're not thinking of-"

"I'll do it," Will confirmed, standing and facing Chiron. "I'll accept Artemis' quest. I'll go to Camp Jupiter and convince them that Helios is worth their time. I'll resurrect the sun."

"...I see," Chiron replied, fixing him with a look of concern. "You are sure?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you also agree to take the Hunter - Mena, was it? - along with you as per Artemis' request?"

"Sure do!"

"Alright, then. Decide who else will be going with you and then make the necessary preparations. It's best to leave for Camp Jupiter as soon as possible. We don't want to be without daylight for any longer than we have to. It'll ruin our strawberry crops."

On an impulse, Nico stood up and turned to Will. "I'm going, too."

Immediately, he felt everyone else's eyes on him. He wasn't sure what exactly had compelled him to stand and proclaim that, but he was already starting to regret it. But the face that Will was making now… Nico wasn't sure if the son of Apollo was thankful or horrified, but either way, there wasn't any backing out now. Not after speaking up in front of the entire group.

He sighed, allowing his shoulders to relax. "I'll go with you."

Will squinted at him, pursing his lips. "I don't think so, Spooky. You're not really in any condition to be doing any quests."

Nico glared at him in response. "Like you are? You've said yourself that you're a healer more than a fighter, and you have the bow and arrow skills of a clump of minotaur dung."

"Okay, first of all _rude_ , and secondly, you were _partially transparent_ until like two weeks ago."

"I'm _fine_ now, Solace. You don't have to treat me like I'm going to _break_ or anything. I'm going whether you like it or not!"

Everyone else kind of awkwardly fidgeted, glancing between the two as if they were watching a really intense rap battle.

Will frowned at him for a few more moments before sighing, raising his hands in defeat. "Alright, _fine_ , but the second you show any signs of 'fading into the shadows' or whatever that nonsense was, I'm shipping you back to camp in an ambulance."

"Whatever," Nico replied, rolling his eyes as he headed for the door. "Come on, let's go and get ready."

Will nodded and started after him, briefly turning his attention to the Hunter in the back of the room. "Meet us at the Apollo cabin in like an hour?" He received a silent nod in response, then turned back to follow Nico out of the Big House.

Percy was really lucky that Nico was already out of earshot before quipping, "those two should just make out already."


	2. The Terrible Twosome

Nico could already tell that he wasn't going to get along with this Hunter who had been assigned to accompany them on the quest.

The two of them stood outside the Apollo cabin as they waited for Will to finish making his preparations. They looked each other over, sizing up one another, dark brown eyes drilling into pale blue as if they were trying to judge the other's worth, whether or not they could be trusted.

She might've been attractive if not for the scowl on her face and her piercing gaze, not that Nico was in any position to be the judge of that. Her presence gave him an uneasy feeling, somehow, something like watching a trainwreck or a burning building. There was something just off enough about her, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on: maybe it was the fact that her eyes were digging into him like arrows, or that she was definitely judging him for the simple crime of being male.

That didn't mean that Nico wasn't judging her, though - she was a Hunter of Artemis, and Nico's track record with them wasn't exactly stellar. A part of him still resented Artemis and her Hunters for swaying his sister over to their side. They had essentially written the death sentence for Bianca, even before she had left on the quest with Zoe Nightshade; Bianca had wanted to do something for herself, which, in Nico's mind, had translated to her wanting to be free of the responsibility of watching after him.

He'd eventually forgiven her for that, though. To be honest, he didn't really want to be around himself, either.

"So," the Hunter's voice broke his thoughts - the sound was softer than he anticipated. "Nico di Angelo, son of Hades."

He crossed his arms, keeping his glare focused on the tall girl. " _So,_ " he mimicked, "Mena, Hunter of Artemis."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sure you're aware that I'm not exactly _thrilled_ to be joining this quest."

"Unsurprising," he countered, scowling at her in response. "Ask me if I care."

"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say you care a _lot_ , considering you've been glaring daggers at me for the last ten minutes," Mena deadpanned, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her silver jacket. "I can tell you're _really_ looking forward to this."

Nico scoffed, finally breaking his gaze. "Don't flatter yourself. The only reason I'm going on this quest is so Solace doesn't get his dumb ass killed."

"Oh, ye of little faith," Will's voice sounded from the doorway of the cabin. "How will I _ever_ survive without your sardonic commentary, Death Boy? I thrive off of it, you know."

Nico and Mena both turned to face him, their expressions as flat and bitter as a soda left out in the sun for too long.

Will let out a low whistle and gave them a sheepish smile, shivering as if the temperature had dropped twenty degrees. "Tough crowd. You guys ready to head out? I'm all stocked up on ambrosia and first-aid stuff. Kayla's taking over counselor duties while I'm gone."

Mena nodded in response. "I've my own provisions. Collapsible tent, food, off-road gear," she replied curtly.

Nico blinked when Will turned to him, an expectant look on his face. He gave himself a once-over - there wasn't really much he could bring that would be of any use to them. The clothes on his back, his sword at his side. What else could they possibly need; surely this wouldn't be _that_ long of a trip?

"Hey, Spooky…" Will gave him The Look: the same profoundly annoying look in his eye that he got whenever he was about to go into doctor mode. "That all you're carrying?"

Nico shrugged in response. "I didn't think I'd need much else? This isn't going to take _that_ long, is it?"

The Look intensified. "I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

"What."

"Nico di Angelo, you better not be thinking that you're going to _shadow travel_ us all the way across the country," Will snapped, poking an accusing finger into Nico's chest.

"Don't poke me!" Nico waved him off, taking a step backward. "How else do you think we're supposed to get to Camp Jupiter in a timely manner?"

"I'm pretty sure I gave you _explicit_ instructions to, you know, _not do Underworld-y stuff_."

"Alright then, Einstein, do _you_ have any bright ideas on how we're supposed to manage this?"

"Not really. You're definitely not shadow traveling, though. Doctor's orders, remember?" Will crossed his arms in a huff and looked over at Mena, as if searching for an answer from her.

The Hunter shrugged. "Don't look at me. It's bad enough that I have to drag _one_ inept teenage boy further than I'd like. Two isn't much better."

Nico buried his face in his palms. They hadn't even left yet and he was already aggravated with both of them. He was definitely hoping that this trip would be quick and painless, like ripping off a Band-Aid. He'd shadow traveled to and from New Rome plenty of times before, so why would this time be any different?

… Well, there was the lingering notion in the back of his mind that he'd fade into the shadows completely if he even tried, but against his better judgment, he usually ignored that part.

" _Fine_ ," he conceded, dragging his hands down his face. "I'll summon Jules-Albert or something, if being cooped up in a car with a zombie for like a week sounds more appealing to you."

Will gave him a satisfied smirk, smoothing back his curly hair. "As long as you're not going all transparent on me again, then we're cool. Solace 2, di Angelo 0, by the way." Before Nico could come up with a rebuttal, Will turned his attention to Mena. "So, we should think about heading out, then."

"My fellow Hunters have requested that we meet up with them in Washington D.C.," She said, hoisting her bow and quiver up on her shoulders, "so we should head there first."

"Alright, sweet," Will replied, any traces of annoyance in his voice gone. "We'll let you lead the way, then!"

* * *

'Heading out' of the camp took longer than Nico anticipated. Naturally, on the way to the gates, they had to be stopped by every single one of their friends who wanted to wish them luck on their journey, give them extra provisions, or simply to bother them one last time. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Percy had said, to which Nico had rolled his eyes - at this point, not much would fall into that category.

Equipped with flashlights to light the path, the trio passed through the camp gates without any other delays.

Until they neared the bottom of Half-Blood Hill, that is.

Nico suddenly stopped in his tracks, his hair standing on end. There was a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, immediately letting them know that they weren't alone.

"What's up, Nico?" Will asked, turning his flashlight toward them. "Something wrong?"

He held up a hand, partly to shut Will up, but mostly because that light was _way_ too bright. "Shut up and listen." From the corner of his eye, he could see Mena reach for the crescent-shaped pin in her hair, transforming it into her silver bow. He himself was ready to retrieve his Stygian iron sword at any moment.

The three of them remained silent, senses waiting for any sign of movement. The only thing they could hear were the chirping of crickets and the faint sounds of camp in the distance.

A nearby bush rustled.

Will pointed his flashlight, Mena readied an arrow, and Nico brandished his sword, slicing off the bush's uppermost leaves.

"Whoa, whoa, di Angelo! I was _not_ asking for a haircut today!"

Nico blinked at the bush, dumbfounded, as Cecil and Lou Ellen emerged. They both looked a little bit on edge, and with good reason. "Well, isn't this familiar," Lou Ellen quipped, scratching at her cheek in embarrassment.

While Nico stared and processed the information, Will stepped between him and Mena. "Whoa, hey you two! What are you guys doing out here?"

"Friends of yours?" Mena asked, her arrow still notched.

"Yeah, yeah, they're cool. Y'all put those weapons away."

Lou Ellen tugged at the collar of her shirt for a moment before placing her hands on her hips. "Will, you didn't think you were going on a quest without _us_ , did you?"

Cecil, meanwhile, was preoccupied with a strand of hair that was now shorter than the rest. "Yeah, bro, that's not cool! We _always_ talked about the three of us going when one of us finally got a quest!"

"I kinda didn't have much of a choice in the matter, dude," Will replied with a shrug. "Mena here had to go by default, and then-"

"Yeah, yeah," Lou Ellen cut him off, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "I was there, remember? Nico immediately stood up and said he was going, too. There was no way anyone could get a word in edgewise."

Nico finally snapped out of whatever spell the shock had launched him into, returning his sword to its ring. "Ugh. Getting him to actually agree to it was like pulling teeth," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Anyway, our point is, we're going with you guys."

"No way," Nico replied, exactly the same time as Mena growled, "absolutely not". The two of them glared at each other, then looked away in a huff.

Will gave the other two campers an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, guys, you know the rule. More than three demigods in a group is bad news bears."

Cecil didn't look convinced. "You realize Gaea got beaten down like two weeks ago, right?"

"That doesn't mean there aren't going to be monsters, idiot," Nico snapped. He really wanted to just _get on with this already_. They'd already had more delays than they'd budgeted for, and the last thing he wanted was to be held up by insistent Hermes and Hecate kids.

"So, you guys might need the extra firepower," Lou Ellen countered, crossing her arms with a smirk. "No offense, Will, but you _yourself_ always said that you're a lover and not a fighter."

Nico gestured toward Lou Ellen. "See, that's what I said!"

The implication didn't hit him until he saw Cecil trying to hold back his laughter.

Letting out a loud groan, Nico threw his hands in the air and turned his back to the group. " _I can't even…_ " he muttered in Italian.

He could hear Cecil cackling behind him. "So we can come with you, right?"

Will sounded a bit skeptical. "Well, if these two are okay with it…"

Nico turned back to look at Cecil and Lou Ellen, both of which had expectant grins on their faces. He glanced up at Will, and something about the pleading look in his eyes made Nico crack. "Fine, whatever," he sighed in defeat.

Mena simply shrugged, her stony gaze unwavering. "I'm overruled either way, so… what di Angelo said, I guess."

Cecil and Lou Ellen both whooped and exchanged hi-fives with Will, but their celebration was cut short when Nico cleared his throat, impatiently crossing his arms. "Right, then. No more delays, we have _got_ to get out of here before anyone catches you two." Unfortunately for him, right at that moment something important occurred to him, and he mentally kicked himself because now he was going to sound like a hypocrite. "...I should probably Iris-message Reyna and tell her that we're coming, though."

"We can do that anytime, Spooks," Will assured him. "What about that chauffeur you were talking about?"

"Oh, right." Nico made his way toward the road at the end of the hill. "And quit with the nicknames, Solace!"

* * *

They hadn't even been in the car for ten minutes before Nico decided he was already 100% Done with this road trip.

Jules-Albert had shown up in a limousine, which was fine by Nico because that meant if he got too irritated, he could always retreat to the front seat and escape from his questmates for a while. The problem was that apparently, Cecil had never been inside a limo before, which meant that he absolutely would not shut up about it.

They had been on the road for a few hours when the son of Hermes piped up again. "Dude, does the radio work in here?" he asked, poking at some buttons on the ceiling console.

Nico received a blast of cold air to the face from where he was laying down near the front of the car. "For the third time, _no_ ," he replied, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Man, lame! Guess we gotta make our own music, then. Will, you didn't happen to bring your ukulele, did you?"

"Oh my _Gods_ , Cecil, we are so not having a singalong in the car, this isn't a bonfire. Also zombie driver would probably eat us alive."

"You're no fun, Lou!"

Nico let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Maybe if he tried to sleep, he could escape this hell.

Of course, before he could doze off, he felt a touch on his shoulder. He cracked one eye open to see Will kneeling down next to the seat, a look of concern on his face.

"You okay there, buddy?" he asked quietly.

Letting out another sigh, Nico gave him a short nod and turned onto his side so that he could face him. "Yeah. Just tired."

The son of Apollo didn't look at all convinced. For a moment, he looked like he was going to press the issue, but he exhaled slowly, his expression softening. "You still wanna make that Iris-message?"

"We're kind of missing a couple of necessary components for that, if you hadn't noticed."

"No, see, check this out." Will reached into his pocket, pulling a small but shiny prism. "Butch hooked me up. Stick a bright light behind it and voila, instant rainbows."

Nico looked down at the prism in Will's palm. It was only a couple of inches long, but it was perfectly clear and had many shining facets that allowed it to catch the light from any angle imaginable. He reached over to gingerly pluck it out of Will's hand, jolting a bit when his fingertips brushed against the other boy's skin. He held it up in front of his face, relaxing slightly when he could still see the clear blue of Will's eyes through it.

"Cool," Nico said quietly, "thanks."

Will gave him a grin that looked oddly… sympathetic? Nico couldn't really tell. "If you can get your French zombie friend to pull over, then I can herd everyone else out of the car so you can have some privacy."

Nico gave him a grateful nod and sat up, leaning over the back of the seat to whisper something to Jules-Albert. The chauffeur gave him a silent nod and made for the nearest service station.

"Hey guys, we're making a pit stop!" Will called out to the rest of the car.

"Oh thank the Gods, I really have to pee," Cecil replied, squirming in his seat.

"Too much information, Cecil."

"...ugh, _boys_. Always so crass."

Will laughed at their female companions, and something about the sound was really soothing to Nico. If it were just him and Will on this quest, then he probably would've been less annoyed by everything. Sure, Will was pretty annoying himself, but if he kept laughing and smiling like that, then Nico had a feeling he'd get used to it.

* * *

Once they'd pulled over, Nico took a moment to bask in the silence of the empty limo. It had been _hours_ since he could even hear himself think, and he'd definitely almost lashed out at his questmates a few times for making so much noise. He really needed to chill.

Cecil had sprung out of the car the instant it pulled to a stop, and Mena was right behind him, muttering something about needing the fresh air. Will had asked him if he'd wanted a snack or anything, and then he and Lou Ellen were off to take care of that.

Will could only stall them for so long, though. Nico took the prism in his hand and set it on top of one of their flashlights. The moment he turned it on, the entire black interior of the car was filled with rainbows.

It was a beautiful sight, really. He basked in it for a brief moment before retrieving a golden drachma from his pocket and tossing it in the air. "Show me Reyna at Camp Jupiter."

The image instantly faded into a bedroom scene - Reyna was sitting on a rather lavish-looking bed, tying her hair up into a fresh braid. It had to be pretty late by now if she was getting ready for bed, and Nico felt a pang of guilt at the thought. "Reyna?"

The praetor jolted at the sound of his voice, looking a bit apprehensive until she realized it was just him. "Oh, Nico. You startled me."

The corner of his lips turned up into a half-smile. "Sorry about that. How are things going over there?"

She let out a deep sigh as she finished off her braid. "Things are still settling down over here. It took a while for some of the legion to get used to the idea of Frank being a praetor, but mostly everyone has accepted him after seeing him on the battlefield." She paused, an unreadable look on her face. "Everything's been a lot less tense without Octavian, as well."

Nico's smile wilted. There was a part of him - a _big_ part of him, admittedly - that still felt guilty for how Octavian had died. It wasn't really the death itself that bothered him, so much as the idea that Will probably thought less of him for letting it happen. Yes, he was simply following his father's advice, and yes, Octavian was actual trash, but…

Why did he care about Solace's opinion so much, anyway?

He shook the thought out of his head. This wasn't the time. "Mm, I see… I'm glad Frank's doing well. He'll be a great praetor." He bit his lip for a moment before continuing. "Listen, Reyna… we're on our way to New Rome right now."

She blinked at him, tilting her head in confusion. "'We'?"

Nico nodded. "Me, Will, Cecil, Lou Ellen. A Hunter of Artemis. We've got some important things to talk about, about the whole… sun-not-rising thing."

"I see." Reyna nodded, her expression turning serious. "That's something that has been discussed at length here, too. Everyone seems to think that Frank and I have all of the answers, but honestly, we don't know any more than they do."

"We've got a theory about it. I'll wait until we can tell you in person though, you look like you were about to head to bed."

"I was, good thing you caught me. When can we expect you here?"

Nico pouted a bit, crossing his arms. "Not sure on that one. I would've just shadow traveled us there, but _noooo_ , Solace is too afraid that I'll fade into the darkness or something."

"As he should be," Reyna replied sharply, "you nearly killed yourself transporting us and the Athena Parthenos over the ocean. It's only been a few weeks, Nico, there's no way that your body could have recovered from that kind of strain in such a short period of time."

"I know, I know." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "He's been telling me the exact same thing. Anyway, we're riding with Jules-Albert. I guess it'll take us maybe a week? I'll let you know when we get into California or something."

Her expression softened at that. "Good, good. Please be careful, Nico. Hazel would be devastated if we lost you, and so would I."

Nico took a short, shuddering breath. "Yeah… yeah, I know. I promise I'll be careful. I swear it on the Styx and everything."

The sound of voices outside the car briefly distracted him from his thoughts. "I'd better go, everyone's headed back to the car. Tell Hazel and Frank that I'll see them soon, okay?"

Reyna nodded, giving him an affectionate smile. "Of course. Good night, Nico. Be safe."

"Good night, Reyna. Miss you guys." He turned off his flashlight just as the door to the limo opened.

"I got you some fruit," Will said as he climbed into the car, "because I'm gonna make damn sure that you actually eat something on this trip." He flashed Nico a grin as he handed him a small grocery bag.

Nico rolled his eyes and took the bag, glancing down at the apple and banana inside. "I _guess_ I can manage that."


	3. The Neverending Nightmare

The rest of the drive hadn't been kind to Nico.

As he'd eaten the fruit that Will had retrieved for him (and, true to his word, he made _damn_ sure that Nico actually ate it), Cecil had pulled a small black box out of his backpack, deciding that right there in the limo, they were all going to play a card game.

"What? Car trips are boring as hell, we gotta keep ourselves entertained somehow," he'd said as he shuffled the deck. There had been a stack of black cards, and a larger one of white cards. "Anyway, the Stolls let me borrow this for the trip. It's called Cards Against Olympus. It's a great bonding experience."

"Bonding experience," Nico had repeated flatly.

"Yeah! You really get to know how awful your friends are." He'd then launched into an explanation of how the game worked, because only he and Lou Ellen had played, and all of it honestly sounded ridiculous to Nico until Cecil actually did a demonstration.

"...so here, the Czar takes the black card and reads it off: 'What really started the Trojan War?' And then everyone else plays whatever white card they think is the funniest. For example," he drew a card off the top of the white deck, "'Disney's Hercules being beaten into a bloody pulp by the real Heracles.' That's one of the _tamer_ cards."

"That's literally the dumbest thing I have ever heard," Mena had deadpanned.

"That's part of the charm of it!"

As Cecil started dealing out white cards, Will had leaned closer to Nico and muttered, "Zeus is going to smite _all of us_ for this, isn't he."

"Probably," Nico had replied.

In all honesty, the game had been pretty fun. Nico had turned out to be surprisingly good at it - probably because his sense of humor was so warped - and had his own little stack of black cards that was steadily growing. What did Rhea give to Kronos to eat instead of Zeus? _An oiled-up Greek ass._ The dark terror that lurks in the Labyrinth is actually _SHades, Hades' rapping alter-ego._ What is the real reason ladies won't sleep with Apollo? _The tiniest, tiniest dick._

Will had smacked him on the arm for that one, but he'd been laughing along with everyone else, so Nico couldn't feel too bad about it.

But the game had come to an abrupt end when someone played a card involving Tartarus hiding "happy family homicide bonding" in its darkest, most terrifying corners, and Nico had decided it was time to mentally check out. He'd climbed into the front seat with Jules-Albert without a word, only to hear a faint "sorry, Nico" as the divider shut behind him.

He'd tried to get a little bit of sleep after that, because he'd had absolutely no idea what time it was and he was _so, so tired_ , but naturally, his dreams had to go and screw that up again.

He'd been back in the Hades cabin, though the only reason he assumed that much was that he'd shot up in bed like he'd done earlier that afternoon. For a moment, he'd wondered if everything that had happened had just been a bad dream, but then he noticed that everything surrounding his bed was pitch-black and also his father was there for some reason.

 _Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into, boy?_ Hades had asked him. _Resurrecting a faded god… I have never heard of such a thing happening._

 _In case you haven't noticed, we don't really have much of a choice here,_ Nico had snarked back, _Artemis herself implied that it was possible. Chiron even thinks there might be a way to do it._

Hades had given him a look that was some weird hybrid of anger and concern. _You realize what is happening on the surface, don't you? The Eternal Night… have you any idea of what could be causing it?_

Nico had paused for what felt like hours as he considered this; once it occurred to him, he'd given his father a disbelieving look. _You don't think-_

 _I am highly suspicious,_ Hades had cut him off, _that Night herself may be taking advantage of Apollo's… punishment._

The suggestion had hit Nico like a ton of bricks. How hadn't he realized it before? Nyx, the embodiment of Night, emerging from Tartarus as she did every time the sun went down, covering the entire world in her darkness in the absence of a solar deity… Nico had felt his blood run cold even within the confines of his dream. He didn't really want to believe that it was true: a being that even the strongest Titans feared because of her incredible, terrifying power; a being whose name his own father, the Lord of the Underworld, couldn't even say…

 _And, if my hunch is correct, then your quest may be infinitely more dangerous than you think..._

Nico had awakened in a cold sweat just as they'd entered the outskirts of Washington D.C.

* * *

His entire body felt numb as he stared into the light of the campfire.

They had arrived in D.C. at just after four in the morning, and Mena had warned them that her fellow Hunters probably wouldn't be arriving for several hours - they'd arrived much sooner than she'd anticipated, so she'd taken out her collapsible tent and set it up in a secluded alleyway. That way they would have a temporary 'home base' of sorts where they could get some rest and wait for the Hunters.

"The Mist will help keep the mortals from finding us," Lou Ellen said as she sat down next to Nico. "To them it'll just look like a giant dumpster. I doubt anyone would give it a second thought."

"Great," Nico replied blankly as he watched the flames.

He could feel her eyeing him in concern.

He hadn't really spoken to anyone else since they'd arrived. What Hades had suggested in his dream weighed so heavily on his mind that it consumed all of his thoughts just like how the night had consumed the world. If it really _was_ Nyx behind all of this, then they were dealing with something far beyond anything they'd ever imagined.

Fending off Gaea's forces had been difficult enough even with an entire army of demigods. To think that their small group of five would have to pull off the same thing with Gaea's equally-powerful sister was downright absurd and most likely _completely impossible_.

 _Your quest may be infinitely more dangerous than you think._

Nico didn't want to think about it.

"You should rest," Will's voice sounded from his other side, breaking him from his thoughts.

Nico lifted his gaze to meet Will's; his blue eyes were dark with worry. "I'm fine," he replied weakly, forcing down the sudden lump in his throat.

"I'm sorry if I upset you with the, uh, card thing," Cecil spoke up from his spot across from him. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings or anything."

Nico shifted his eyes between the three of them, all looking deeply concerned (and in Cecil's case, apologetic). Mena was nowhere in sight, which suited him just fine - the less people around to bother him, the better. "Guys, seriously, I'm _fine_ ," he grumbled, "I slept a couple of hours, had a nightmare like always, and I just don't want to sleep anymore and _that's it_ , okay?"

He lowered his voice once he noticed that he'd gotten needlessly aggressive with his words. "Trust me, I've had worse nights than this. I'm okay. Really."

They didn't look convinced, but as far as Nico was concerned, the conversation was over, and he went right back to staring into the campfire. One by one, the others gradually filed into the tent to try and get some rest for themselves. Mena had eventually returned from wherever she'd wandered off to, saying something about an Iris-message to Artemis, then retired herself. Will was the last one to retreat, gently setting his hand on Nico's shoulder before getting up and heading inside the tent.

And there Nico was, alone with the merciless thoughts that refused to go away.

* * *

He didn't realize that he'd dozed off until he felt someone lightly shaking his shoulder. He could vaguely hear someone muttering his name, but his mind was so foggy that it took him a moment to remember where exactly he was.

Nico rubbed at his eyes as he tried to regain his bearings. "Buh…?"

His gaze eventually focused on Will's face hovering over him. The boy almost looked like he was trying to bite back a smile, and the light of the campfire danced in his eyes in amusement. "You realize that you're like, the cutest sleeper ever, right?"

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and Nico's level of alertness increased tenfold as his ears started to burn. "W-What? Shut up!"

Will let out a hearty chuckle at that, patting his shoulder in a friendly manner. He drew his hand back and squatted down in front of Nico. "Knew that'd wake you up. Anyway, I was thinkin' about going out and grabbing some grub for everyone, since I don't think any of us have had a decent meal since we left camp. You wanna come with?"

Nico bit his lip and stared the blond down as he willed his blush to recede. "... What time even is it," he asked; he'd expected it to still be dark outside, but still, actually seeing the pitch-black sky at this time was still a bit jarring.

"About nine in the morning. It's weird to think of because it's nighttime, but from what I can tell, businesses are still opening with all this going on, so…" Will gave him a shrug. "Plus, you kinda look like you could use some time to relax."

"Time to relax…" Nico took a moment to look him over. Between this and what Will had done for him the night before… he couldn't tell if it was just Will being _Will_ , unnecessarily mother-henning him as he always did, or if he was actively going out of his way to make sure Nico felt comfortable on this quest. They didn't have to be mutually exclusive, but still, Nico was unsure. "If we can get McDonald's then I'm in."

Will gave him a big grin, and Nico felt his heart skip a beat. "Not really my first choice, but if it'll get you up and moving, then I _guess_ I can deal with it this one time."

He stood up and offered a hand, and under normal circumstances Nico would've waved him off and stood up on his own. But between his anxiety and being cramped up in a car for hours only to fall asleep on uncomfortable concrete, he took the offered hand for the extra leverage.

The touch sent jolts of electricity down Nico's spine, and he pulled his hand away as soon as he steadied himself. "Let's go, then," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

The city was bustling, despite the all-consuming darkness. Many people went about their days as usual, seemingly oblivious that something was very, _very_ wrong with their world - Nico wondered if they even knew what was going on. Could they even _see_ the night sky above them, was everything completely normal? It was tough to tell with mortals. Nico made a mental note to ask Rachel Elizabeth Dare about it the next time he contacted Camp Jupiter.

"It's like they can't even tell that anything's different," Will muttered from beside him, voicing Nico's thoughts exactly.

Nico only grunted in response. All of this nonsense was starting to get really overwhelming, _really_ fast. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours yet and he could already tell that he and his companions were in way over their heads. Re-awakening a faded god, the possibility of a primordial goddess hanging over their heads, and maybe even worse… he'd honestly be surprised if any of them made it back to Camp Half-Blood alive, at this point.

Being back in this city didn't really help matters. As he watched the sidewalk in front of him, he could almost see Bianca tugging on his hand, dragging him along to point out something brand new.

 _I don't remember this sweets shop being here, Nico!_

 _There are so many new subway stations… I'm going to have to memorize them all!_

 _Nico, hurry! We can try to lose them if we just keep running!_

He glared down at the ground, trying to push the memories back. The last thing he needed was to get wrapped up in painful thoughts of the last time he'd been here.

"You're doing that _thing_ again," Will quipped, "the whole _brooding cloud_ nonsense."

Nico moved his glare from the ground, instead fixing it on Will's face. "So?"

" _So_? That's the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish right now."

"... Stockpiling sausage McMuffins?"

Will groaned, burying his face in his palm. "No, Death Boy, getting you to relax!"

Nico's glare softened into a suspicious squint, the corners of his lips twitching. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it? Bribing me with the promise of McDonald's, just to get me to take a walk with you?"

"You're the one who suggested it, not me." Will crossed his arms, a crooked grin on his face. "So, fess up - something's been bugging you since we got here, I can tell. You wanna talk about it?"

"Uh…" Nico's breath hitched in his throat, and he swallowed thickly, turning to stare into the windows of the shops they were passing.

He had to admit, he was slightly more comfortable with Will than he was with most people, but still, the thought of unloading his thoughts onto anyone else made a ball of dread wind up in the pit of his stomach. What was he supposed to say - _hey, not to freak you out or anything, but my dad thinks a protogenos is trying to eat the world?_ Hades hadn't even been sure about it himself, and somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Nico still didn't think it was possible. He couldn't confess all of that to someone without knowing if it was actually true or not, it'd just cause their entire group a lot of unnecessary stress. Hell, _he_ was stressing out about it enough for all five of them.

"I dunno. It's just, I haven't been here in D.C. since before coming to Camp Half-Blood. The last time, I was with Bianca."

"...oh," Will replied quietly, a sympathetic tone in his voice.

Okay, to Nico's credit, it wasn't a _complete_ lie. He knew that Will knew all about what had happened to Bianca - most of the camp did. During slow nights in the infirmary, when just the two of them were awake, Nico had spoken very highly of his sister. She had always been there to protect him, to listen to him when no one else would; she held him and sang to him whenever he had nightmares, she'd promised to always be there for him - until one day, she wasn't, and she would never be again.

Will had been able to sympathize with him: after all, he'd lost two of his own brothers during the Titan War, and he'd admitted to missing them and thinking about them every day. But it was different for him, he'd still had his other Apollo siblings to help him through it. At the time, there hadn't been anyone else for Nico to turn to.

But, all things considered, it was no longer something he was afraid of discussing with Will. They'd both lost siblings, they both still carried the memories with them every day.

They'd been walking in a comfortable silence for several long minutes before the son of Apollo spoke up again. "Hey, while we're out, how about some retail therapy?"

Nico looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Will had a grin on his face, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "That aviator jacket you used to wear - you lost it, right? Why don't we go find you a new one?"

Nico wasn't sure if he was hearing things right. Had Will Solace, one of the most frustratingly stubborn demigods that he'd ever dealt with, really just suggested that they go _shopping_ while the rest of their questmates busied themselves with who-knows-what? "You're kidding me."

"No, I'm serious! A little window shopping never hurt anyone!" Before Nico could protest, Will had grasped his wrist and started pulling him down the sidewalk.

* * *

"This is stupid," Nico declared for the fifth time as the two of them headed for yet another store. "You realize Cecil and Lou Ellen are probably worrying their heads off, right?"

"Nah, I told them we'd probably be gone for a while. And Mena said that the Hunters probably wouldn't show up until afternoon," Will replied, eyeing the BOGO and 50% Off signs in the store's windows.

Nico groaned, glancing up at the name of the shop: A&D's. Whatever, they were all starting to blend together in his mind by that point.

The interior of the store was entirely too bright for Nico's liking. The walls were an obnoxious shade of cyan, and everything else was accented with shades of yellow and magenta. The black tile flooring was such a stark contrast with it that Nico wondered if they'd let a blind cyclops do the decorating, and on top of that, the fluorescent lighting only served to irritate his eyes.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the two salespeople who accosted them as soon as they walked in the door.

"Hellooooo there and welcome to A&D's-"

"-where everything is _affordable_ and _discounted!"_

"Is there anything we can help you with-"

"-anything at all?"

They were almost identical: a man wearing yellow who looked more like he should've been a used car salesman instead, and a woman in magenta who had probably done her fair share of infomercials in her day. They both wore matching thousand-watt grins on their faces and somehow Nico found it _really_ unnerving.

He'd recoiled in horror and ducked behind Will the moment they'd appeared in front of the two boys.

Will himself didn't look too bothered by it. "Hey, thanks guys! We're just looking for right now. C'mon, Nico."

"Okay, if you need anything-"

"-anything at all-"

"Just let April or myself know!"

"Yes, Dolph and I would be _honored_ to assist you!"

Nico found himself being dragged by the wrist again. "What did I do to deserve this?"

* * *

They'd been in the store for nearly twenty minutes when Will shrieked.

Nico, who had been boredly looking through a rack of identical black t-shirts, was instantly at attention upon hearing the scream. He easily picked out Will's blond mop of hair from between the clothing racks and headed over as fast as his feet could take him.

He readied his hand on the hilt of his sword. "What happened, Will?"

Instead of some sort of monster or ancient relic or, you know, something a demigod _might actually suspect_ in this kind of situation, Nico instead found a black hooded sweatshirt shoved into his hands.

Will looked like he was over the moon with glee. "Put it on. _Please._ It's perfect."

"What in _Hades_ -" Nico looked down at the jacket. It looked like a standard issue hoodie, but there were bones printed on it in an actual skeleton pattern. "Are you serious right now, Solace?"

" _Deathly_ serious!"

"Oh my _gods_ , you did _not_ just make a death pun at me."

Will simply laughed loudly in response, and Nico might've enjoyed the sound a bit more if the ball of discomfort in his stomach hadn't wedged itself up into his throat. "Solace, shut it for a second."

The other boy stopped his laughter, instead looking down at Nico curiously. "Huh? What's up?"

Nico bit his lip, stepping closer and lowering his voice. "...I feel like those salespeople have been watching us the entire time. It's creeping me out."

Will raised an eyebrow at him. "That's usually what salespeople _do_ , Spooky. Gotta make sure we're not stealing anything," he replied, playfully punching Nico in the shoulder. "C'mon, I wanna see that hoodie on you!"

Nico hang his head, letting out a groan. "Okay, _fine_." He started pulling the sleeves on as he walked over to a nearby pillar, looking at his reflection in the tall mirrors covering it.

Will came up behind him, pulling the hood up over his head. "Man, that is _so you_. What do you think?"

Nico took a moment to look himself over. It was a bit loose and baggy, but warm and comfortable at the same time. "I… kind of like it."

In the mirror, he could see Will grin and punch the air. "Ha, I knew you would. You look good."

For a moment, Nico completely forgot about his prior anxiety, instead focused on the compliment he was given. He turned away, pulling the hood down over his reddening face . "Sh-shut up," he growled as his willed his blush to disappear.

"Ah, what a nice choice you've made there, young man!"

"Yes, absolutely, it's _perfect_ for you!"

The sudden voices next to them almost made Nico leap out of his skin. " _Holy_ -"

There they were, April and Dolph, flashing their million-dollar grins again. He hadn't even heard them walk up.

"As it so happens, all of our winter tops are a staggering seventy-five percent off right now," Dolph continued, slicking a hand over his greased-up hair.

"Yes, and we also have a special running," April chimed in, waving her long, manicured fingers around, "buy one and get a second half-off!"

Will let out a low whistle. "That's a pretty good deal, Nico."

Nico shot him a sidelong glare. "Did we even bring any money with us?"

"Oh, you don't need any _money_ here, little demigods."

Before either of them could react, everything suddenly went dark. The sound of shattering glass echoed above them, and they barely had any time to cover their heads before the shards of the overhead lights rained down upon them.

No light from the outside came in through the windows. The only lights they could see were a pair of glowing eyes.

"You've walked right into our trap, children of the gods," April's voice sounded from all corners of the room, as if over an intercom.

"Now we're going to finish up what Gaea herself could not," Dolph countered.

They finished off in unison, " _by applying our fabulous bargains to_ ** _you_** _!_ _"_


	4. The Blinding Brilliance

**A/N** : Sorry for the wait, guys. Had to take a bit of a mental vacation. Here's an extra-long chapter to make up for it. Enjoy!

Content warning for graphic descriptions of panic attacks in this chapter.

* * *

Nico's first thought: _that was the lamest pre-ass-kicking one-liner I've ever heard._

Nico's second thought: _I'm going to punch Solace in the throat._

Drawing his sword in one hand, he reached behind him with the other to make sure Will was still there. He could hear the son of Apollo pulling an arrow from the quiver on his back, and he definitely felt the warmth radiating off of said son, so: time to try and think of a plan before they both get eaten by monsters.

"Can you see anything, Nico?" Will asked quietly as the pairs of glowing eyes that were circling the store left faint trails of light in their wake.

"A little," Nico replied, grasping at Will's shirt. "I think I can shadow-travel us out of here." Before Will could protest, Nico tapped into his powers, concentrating on nothing but returning them both to their campsite-

-only to slam into the store's glass doors the instant they slipped into the darkness.

Nico let out several curses in Italian as he reeled from his spot on the floor. He could hear Will groaning next to him, and once the stars faded from his vision, all he could see was that all-consuming blackness. "Son of a… they've got some kind of barrier on the place, I couldn't go through it…"

"You didn't think we would let you go _that easily,_ did you, son of Hades?"

"It's so cute how you think your powers could help you, here!"

Nico couldn't even really tell the voices apart anymore; they'd both become so distorted because of the intercom. Which, unfortunately, made it tough to tell exactly which direction they were coming from.

As far as he could tell, neither of them had been attacked yet, which was good and bad - neither of them were hurt, but the fact that there _weren't_ any attacks coming made him really anxious. Nico groaned and pulled himself to his feet, gripping his sword in his hand.

"Will," he whispered, "now would probably be a good time to see if your aim has improved at all."

He heard Will stand up a few feet away. "Yeah, that- that's a thing I should do."

Nico's gaze followed the glowing eyes of their enemies. "Listen. Try shooting at one of them and see if you can get them out of the air. I'll… think of something."

"Nice plan, di Angelo. You've really put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"Shut up and try not to impale yourself on your own arrow."

He could hear Will start to fire off a retort, but whether or not he actually succeeded was unknown - Nico felt a powerful force slam into his back, and the next thing he knew he'd been slammed into the counter near the front registers. His ears rang as he felt his body topple over the counter and hit the ground on its other side; he could vaguely hear Will shouting his name as he gazed at the wall behind the counter.

Spots were dancing in Nico's vision. He had no idea _what_ that force had been, but something about it was very different from what he was used to experiencing during monster attacks. It almost felt like…

He shook the thought out of his head. There wasn't time to analyze these things at the moment. As he took a second to regroup and forced his head to clear, he could hear the pulls of Will's bow throughout the dark store. He sounded like he was holding his own pretty well, at least…

Nico slowly pulled himself to his feet, leaning back against the counter for support. He was in quite a lot of pain from the blow to his back and the subsequent impact with said counter, but he wasn't bothered by that so much as the spots of bright light that were still clouding his vision. He hadn't hit his head _that_ hard, had he?

His mind was shouting at him to suck it up and go help Will, but what help would he possibly be if he couldn't even get his bearings?

The spots weren't going away, but his head had finally stopped spinning long enough to focus. And in that very moment, a plan formulated in his head.

His eyes had had plenty of time to adjust to his pitch-black surroundings, so now he could see the faint outlines of the store's interior. And what he saw in front of him, on shelves lining the wall behind the counter…

Glowsticks. Hundreds of them.

Nico honestly should've been surprised. But after everything he had already seen, several boxes of glowsticks in a store that was already obnoxiously colored wasn't really that hard an idea to swallow.

He surged forward and grabbed a handful, cracking them between his fingers. The neon colors sprang to life, and he threw the handful out into the darkness.

"Whoa, what the heck?" Will called out from the opposite end of the store.

"No! What are you _doing_?!" a distorted voice cried out from the loudspeakers.

Nico smirked to himself in the darkness, cracking more and more of the glowsticks into action. The more he threw out over the counter, the more he could identify: the clothing racks, the store's support beams, Will - most importantly, he could now identify their assailants.

Physically, not much had changed about the shopkeepers, save for their glowing eyes and apparent ability to levitate.

The Glasgow smiles were pretty new, though.

Recovering his sword, Nico leapt over the counter and ran over to where Will was. The boy had shoved himself between a rack of dresses to hide himself from the view of their attackers, his empty quiver on the floor beside him.

"Glowsticks, really?" Will asked quietly.

Nico smacked him in the middle of the chest. "Shut up, I don't see you doing anything productive. At least we can see, right?" He turned around to look over the floor. It looked like some of the glowsticks had been trampled, but all that had accomplished was releasing the luminescent fluids onto the floor.

The two salespeople seemed to be preoccupied with that for the time being, and he turned back to Will. "Are you hurt?"

Will met his eyes with a smirk. "Banged up here and there from running into stuff, but otherwise I'm good as gold. I'm out of arrows, though."

Nico cursed under his breath and pulled Will out of the clothing rack. "We'll have to make do with my sword, then. Keep a lookout for me."

He dashed into the fray with Will hot on his heels, slashing his Stygian iron sword at the first glowing-eyed figure that he could make out.

"Was that supposed to _hurt_?" the more masculine voice sounded. "I barely even felt that little love tap!"

Nico growled at the taunts and continued to slash at the creature in front of him. All he seemed to be getting in response were hideous cackling over the loudspeaker, a luminous slasher smile, and the faintest hints of a shimmering fluid on his blade.

Was that… ichor?

"No, _no_! These can't be _gods_ that we're dealing with, here!" Nico shouted as he continued his assault.

"Oh, dear, you're _so close_ , but I'm afraid you're not quite correct!" the feminine voice called out. "You of all demigods should have experience with _daimons_ , Nico di Angelo!"

Daimons...

He'd met his fair share of them during his time in Tartarus, namely the terrible Arai. They had been the spirits of curses, daughters of Nyx.

Nico froze.

 _Children of Nyx._

"You… I know who you both _really_ are," Nico choked out, locking gaze with the wounded creature in front of him.

The man in the yellow suit chuckled and grasped at his chest as Nico's attacks ceased. It was painfully obvious now that he was, indeed, gripping golden ichor - the blood of the gods. "You've _figured it out, have you_?" he bellowed, gripping the blade of Nico's sword on one hand and wrenching it from the demigod's grasp. " _Then tell us, son of Hades! Reveal our true identities!_ "

"Dolos and Apate," Nico breathed, "the daimons of trickery and deceit."

"Absolutely correct!" Apate's voice shrieked from behind him. He barely had any time to react and counter before he was thrown - again, by the same force that he'd experienced before - into one of the store's support beams.

The back of his head roughly slammed into the beam, and he could feel the trickle of blood running down his neck as he slumped down to the floor, his vision fading completely.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he regained consciousness. At the moment, only three of his senses seemed to be working:

His body felt warm, _so warm_ , as if the sun itself had wrapped him in its light. He could definitely hear the pained, dissonant screeches of daimons in the distance. There was something _immensely_ bright lying just behind his eyelids.

Still in a daze, Nico slowly cracked his eyes open, and was met with the sun.

More specifically, he was pressed to a warm, orange-clad chest, and he could see a head of familiar blonde hair glowing like a halo against the dazzling light. Will was tightly clutching Nico's body against his own, one arm thrust out into what _used_ to be the all-consuming darkness of A&D's.

Now, the entire store was illuminated with blinding white light, and Nico could hear the agonized shrieks of Dolos and Apate as they thrashed about, desperately trying to shield their eyes from the brightness.

Nico couldn't even tell where the light was coming from. Had someone arrived to help, or…

Will retracted his arm and hooked it underneath Nico's knees, lifting up off the ground. "Now," he whispered, "we can try and escape while they're distracted!" The

"Will," Nico protested quietly, still too disoriented to to try and escape from his companion's grasp. "What was…"

He didn't finish his sentence, as Will had already started running for the doors. But before they could get there, Apate slammed her body against the doors, blocking their exit. " _You_ ," she growled, "you think your little _trick of the light_ would work on _us_ , son of Apollo?!" The daimon looked absolutely enraged as she narrowed her eyes, sharp teeth glinting in the light. " _Think again_."

Fortunately, a miracle happened before Apate could launch her counterattack.

The glass doors behind her shattered, and her body flew past the two demigods before crashing into the form of the still-recovering Dolos. A vast number of silver arrows followed suit, building up around the two daimons until they formed a solid silver cage.

Nico felt Will's embrace tighten the slightest bit as the light slowly started to fade, but before he could say anything, a girl wearing punk-styled clothes entered the store, flanked by a young auburn-haired girl and a familiar girl in silver.

"Looks like we're late to the party," Thalia Grace said, briefly glancing over the damaged building. "You guys even brought glowsticks."

* * *

The Hunters' camp was decidedly nicer than their shoddy little setup in that back alley on the outskirts of D.C.

Not that Nico really cared. He, along with Will and Cecil, had been banished to a bench on the edge of the Hunters' camp, which suited him just fine: the less time they had to spend around those women, the better. Of course Mena was present among the Hunters, and she and Thalia had roped Lou Ellen into hanging out with them.

Needless to say, the three boys were bored.

"What are they even _talking_ about?" Cecil moaned from his backwards position on the bench - he had draped his knees over the backrest, allowing his head to hang upside-down off of the front.

"Who knows, who cares," Nico replied flatly.

Thankfully, he was feeling much better. Once they'd left the store, leaving Dolos and Apate behind, he'd wriggled out of Will's arms and insisted on walking on his own. That had been a mistake on his part, as he'd almost fell flat onto his face; Will had grasped him around the waist and all but shoved a square of ambrosia down his throat.

The familiarity of the situation had not been lost on him.

The more pressing thing on his mind was that strange light that had filled the store after Nico's collision with the support beam. Apate had addressed Will directly, calling it a "trick of the light"...

He looked over at the blonde, who was seated between him and Cecil. Will was silently gazing down at his hand, flexing his fingers back and forth as if he'd never used them before. His expression perfectly mirrored the confusion that Nico felt.

Nico pursed his lips before speaking again. "It was you, wasn't it, Solace. You made that light."

It wasn't really a question so much as a statement.

Will glanced up at him and let out a sigh, dropping his hand into his lap. "Yeah, it was. Don't ask me how I did it, though, I really have no clue."

"I'm assuming it's just one of those 'Apollo things'?"

"No, actually." Will leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees, staring straight ahead at the camp. "At least I don't think so. I've heard of Apollo's children inheriting photokinetic abilities, but it's extremely rare. Everyone else in my cabin thinks it's just a rumor, it's that rare."

"Dude, that'd be sweet if you actually had that," Cecil's strained voice came from below. He'd started pulling himself into sit-ups from his position on the bench. "It'd be hella handy with this whole endless night time thing."

"I guess so," Will replied, rubbing the back of his head, "if I could even figure out how I did it. I was kind of in _desperation mode_ when it happened."

Nico regarded him with a blank stare. "Desperation?"

Will met his eyes, a sheepish expression on his face. "When Apate flung you into that support beam, I kind of panicked. You were completely out, and I couldn't find any of my arrows, so… I don't know. All I could really do was pray for help of _some_ kind. I couldn't let you..." He trailed off, averting his eyes.

Nico blinked at him. There was a familiar and uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach - a skeletal butterfly rising from its slumber, yelling at all of its friends to wake up. Nico squashed down that feeling the best that he could before looking away himself.

He'd opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Will quietly murmuring, "I'm sorry."

He'd been prepared to give the son of Apollo an earful because of his prior actions, but instead he heaved a sigh and leaned back into the bench. "You've never been on a quest before, have you."

"Nope," Cecil answered for him, finally seating himself upright. "The infirmary keeps him pretty busy, I mean, he's the best healer in camp. Me and him and Lou have always said that one day, one of us would get a quest, and we'd all three go together. None of us have any experience with that, but hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?"

Will flashed a small smile in Cecil's direction, giving a short shrug. "I guess I have a lot to learn, don't I."

"You do," Nico scolded, fixing his eyes on Will's again. "Anything and _everything_ could be a trap. You have to be on guard at all times, you have to be suspicious of everything, you can't wander blindly into things like we just did."

He silently gazed at Will for a moment. The other boy's expression was pained; Nico could almost _feel_ the guilt radiating off of him. He exhaled slowly, softening his tone. "... But I know you were just trying to help me. I get it."

The corner of Will's mouth turned up in a smirk. "If nothing else, you got a new jacket out of it. Criminal."

Cecil peered over at him, letting out an appreciative whistle. "That's a rad hoodie, bro. Super appropriate."

Nico simply rolled his eyes at them. Like the daimon shopkeepers were really going to miss one skeleton hoodie. It hadn't even had a price tag on it! Besides, Will had said it looked good on him.

The very thought would've brought the blush back to his face, were it not for the three women from before finally approaching them.

"So, fellas," Thalia greeted, her hands stuffed in her pockets, "we've got some _business_ to discuss."

"You," the auburn-haired girl - Artemis herself - said, pointing a finger at Nico, "tell us everything you know about the two daimons you faced off with."

Nico briefly blinked at them. Why _him_ , he'd been indisposed for half the battle. But, considering he was in the presence of a goddess who could very easily vaporize him, he sighed and recounted what he'd heard from the daimons: Dolos, the daimon of trickery, and Apate, daimon of deceit and fraud. Daimons generally tended to be the offspring of _protogenoi_ , as they represented more abstract concepts - much how Helios was the personification of the sun, Dolos was that of trickery and cunning. And in Nico's experience, much of said offspring were that of one primordial deity in particular.

"Dolos and Apate," he continued, "are the children of Nyx, aren't they."

"Correct, Nico di Angelo," Artemis replied. "And, if I am not mistaken, your father has mentioned that name to you recently, has he not?"

Nico frowned, breaking his gaze from the goddess. Will, Cecil, and Lou Ellen were all regarding him with curious expressions, Mena was blank as usual, and Thalia just looked more _sad_ than anything.

"He has," Nico spat, "not that I was planning on _telling_ anyone about this. It's probably not even true."

"What 'isn't true', Nico?" Will asked, concerned.

Nico took a moment to bury his face in his hands and just _breathe_. "My father came to me in a dream," he started, locking eyes with Artemis', "and said that he thinks Nyx is behind all of this. That she's taking advantage of Apollo's punishment. With the lack of an active solar deity, then Night has free reign."

The response was instantaneous. Nico found himself with a volley of murmurs and questions aimed toward him, and all he could really do to block out the onslaught was to pull his hood up over his head.

Artemis waved a commanding hand at the group. "Silence, all of you." She stepped closer to Nico and reached under his chin - the touch was so gentle that he didn't have the heart to shrink away from it. "You realize, then, why it is imperative that Helios is awakened as soon as possible, don't you."

Nico swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and nodded slowly, feeling panic begin to stir within him. "B-Because…"

"Because, Nico di Angelo: if the situation continues, then our very existence will be in grave danger."

He felt like throwing up.

The silence that hung over the seven of them was deafening. "Wh…" Lou Ellen broke in, so quietly that she could barely be heard, "what do you mean, Lady Artemis?"

Artemis retracted her hand, turning her gaze toward her. "I cannot say. The very notion would crumple your subconscious until there's nothing left."

But Nico knew. He wished he didn't.

He curled his knees up to his chest, hugging them closely as he struggled to regain his voice.

 _The agony that you hold in your heart…_

His heart was racing.

 _I have never felt such intense sorrow from a human before…_

He wanted to cry.

 _You know where we are, don't you?_

He knew.

 _You are in the territory of my mother, Nyx._

Nyx. _Nyx_. NyxNyxNyx.

 _This is the edge of all existence._

The final death.

 _Can you feel it, Nico di Angelo?_

He could. He felt. He _knew_. He felt he knew he felt he didn't want to feel didn't want to know didn't want to _be_.

 _Nico._

His body was shaking he was cold so cold he couldn't speak couldn't breathe couldn't think couldn't _feel_.

 _Nico!_

He felt hands.

"Nico!"

He forced his eyes open. Six concerned faces surrounded him.

"Give the boy some breathing room," one of the faces snapped, urging the others to back off. They complied, moving until only two were remaining.

Nico finally managed to stabilize his breathing enough for him to focus. Will had scooted closer to him, rubbing warm circles into his back; Artemis had taken his face between her soft hands, her aura as calm as the moon.

"You were having a panic attack," Will murmured. "Are you alright…?"

"I…" Nico gulped, finally finding his words. "I. Yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Nico shrank away from Will's touch, waved off Artemis' hands.

He definitely wasn't.

"Try not to think about it, child," Artemis said softly. "You will succeed in your mission, all of you."

"With all due respect, Lady Artemis, how do you know this?" Cecil asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Because you will have help." She pointed at Lou Ellen, beckoning her to step forward. "Come, child of Hecate."

Lou Ellen nodded obediently and stepped closer until she was standing right in front of Nico and Will. "I'm gonna need a hand, you guys."

Nico raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances with Will, before putting a hand forward.

"So, you know my mom Hecate, right? Goddess of magic, sorcery, witchcraft, all that? She's part of the Triple Goddess, you know, along with Artemis and Selene."

"Where are you going with this?" Nico asked flatly.

"The Triple Goddess, ghost boy," Lou Ellen continued, regarding him with an unamused stare, "is one of two divine beings worshipped in the practice of Wicca. So you can see how my mom's connected to all of that! Anyway, there are a lot of powerful symbols that the Pagans and Wiccans use to help empower themselves." She grinned and extended her hands to grip Nico's hand in one and Will's in the other. "So I, as a daughter of Hecate, can mark you guys with them!"

Nico retracted his hand. "Wait, time out. _What_."

Mena stepped forward, crossing her arms. "What she's _trying_ to say is that you two are awful at controlling your powers, so she and Lady Artemis have agreed that branding you with Hecate's _sacred sigils_ or whatever would help you with that."

"Uh… yeah, what she said," Lou Ellen replied, her smile faltering slightly.

"Dude." Will turned to Mena, looking pretty offended. "What do you mean, we're awful at controlling our powers? I'm a healer. I've been doing it for years."

"Not _that_ power, buttass, you're awesome at that." Lou Ellen smacked his hand. "That new light bending thing you can do. You know that's the only reason we found you, right?"

"We could see it from miles away," Thalia added. "It was like a damn _beacon_."

Will looked between the three girls, a skeptical look in his eyes. "Alright, I guess. Do the thing, Lou."

Lou Ellen grinned and placed her other hand atop Will's, sandwiching his hand between her own. She closed her eyes, and before long, a surge of light began to pour from between their clasped hands. Nico watched quietly, mesmerised by the golden glow.

Eventually, she let Will's hand go, revealing a round, wheel-like symbol etched on it. The lines held the golden light for a few moments before fading away entirely.

"So this will help me with that light thing?" Will asked, examining his hand more closely.

"In theory, yes!" Lou Ellen turned to Nico, reaching for his hand again. "And now, your turn."

"... What _powers_ am I 'awful' at controlling?" he asked, shooting a glare in Mena's direction. He hesitantly placed his hand in Lou Ellen's. "I'd like to think that I'm _pretty experienced_ with them."

"Weeeelllll," she trilled, "a little birdie told me that _someone_ almost died from overusing their Underworld-y powers, so this should help contain them better."

Nico hung his head. "Damnit, Solace…"

"What?" Will shrugged. "It's true!"

"Whatever." Nico focused on his own hand, which had started releasing black smoke. "Is this how it's _supposed_ to go?"

"Um, duh," Lou Ellen replied, releasing his hand. "You have shadow powers, so yeah?"

Nico looked down at his hand once it was free from her grasp. Etched on top, in steaming black, was- Oh no. Oh _gods_.

"A pentacle," he growled, " _really_. Are you serious right now. This has to be a _joke_."

"It is a symbol of protection, Nico di Angelo," Artemis cut in. "Which is something you desperately need, lest you become consumed by your own shadows."

He sighed and flexed his hand as the symbol faded, melding into his skin. "Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Dude…" Cecil glanced between Nico and Will. "That's cool as hell. I want a cool symbol, can you do me too, Lou?" He turned to Mena and Thalia. "Do _you_ guys have them?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. " _Anyway_ , that's all we needed to do here, right?" she asked, looking toward Mena and Artemis. "We found the daimons, they got the sigils, so now what?"

"We move on," Mena replied. "We've still got a long way to go before we reach New Rome."

"Oh yeah, speaking of which." Thalia turned her gaze to Will. "That Oracle of your dad's, isn't she in New Rome right now?"

"Rachel? Yeah, she's there. Last I heard, she and Ella were trying to recreate the Sibylline Books," he replied. "Maybe we should Iris-message them, see if there's anything they can tell us…"

"Good call. You guys should probably get a move on, then?"

"Whaaaat, kicking us out so soon?" Lou Ellen teased.

"She is correct," Artemis responded. "There is no time to waste." She looked pointedly at Nico, who immediately understood why.

It still made him sick to think about. But as long as they got to where they were going and completed their mission, there was nothing to worry about, right…?


	5. The Descending Darkness

**A/N:** Content warning for graphic depictions of injuries in this chapter. Stay safe.

* * *

Oh, he was _so_ not right.

Things started off painless enough. Before they left the Hunters' camp, Thalia had informed the group that as long as they were headed that way, then they should stop in Atlanta - she'd read some "interesting things" in the newspaper that she thought might be worth checking out. Will had readily agreed, stating that any lead was better than none at all.

Nico couldn't really argue that, even though it was pretty out of the way for where they were going. One of Cecil's "goofy Hermes talents", as he'd so eloquently put it, was that he was an absolute pro at reading complicated maps and he'd very quickly determined the easiest way to get to Camp Jupiter from D.C.

"Helps when your dad is the god of travel, doesn't it?" he'd said smugly. "Anyway, if we can get on I-80 from here then it'll take us straight to San Francisco. But if we're headed to Atlanta instead, we can just get on I-85 South and boom, we'll be there in like ten hours."

Nico hadn't really cared about the specifics; in fact, he wasn't even sure what Cecil had been talking about. His mind and nerves were still completely frazzled from his earlier panic attack, so he didn't really have the capacity to try and comprehend things like interstate highways.

Ten-hour drives weren't his favorite things in the world, anyway. And yet, here he was, trying his hardest to endure it as heavy rain pounded down around the car.

He'd definitely needed some downtime after said panic attack. Not to mention the battle with Dolos and Apate and everything that followed afterward - which was why he was, again, sitting in the front seat of the limo with Jules-Albert. He hadn't even bothered closing the divider this time.

The conversation the other demigods were having in the back was something that Nico been interested in since before they even left Camp Half-Blood: Will, Cecil, and Lou Ellen were trying to pick apart Mena, who seemed none too thrilled about the whole thing, if her tone of voice was any indication.

On one hand, Nico could kind of sympathize with the Hunter. He definitely didn't like people prying into his personal business, even if it _was_ something as simple as stating who your godly parent was. Cecil had apparently decided to play 20 Questions with her, naming off all of the gods he could think of in an attempt to guess Mena's heritage. To their surprise, as well as Nico's, she answered in the negative to every single one of Cecil's guesses.

 _Probably just some minor god_ , Nico thought to himself. _Or she's a nymph or something. Whatever._

On the other hand, however, it frustrated him, knowing that they had a questmate who they knew absolutely nothing about other than a) she was a Hunter of Artemis, b) she was not an albino - thank Cecil for tactlessly asking - and c) she apparently carried a bag of marbles around for some reason. She wouldn't say how old she was, if she was even a demigod or mortal or whatever, how long she'd even been with the Hunters…

Artemis and Thalia seemed to trust her, but that didn't mean that Nico had to. He definitely knew the feeling was mutual since he was, you know, _male_. But, as he'd already told himself, whatever. She was along for the quest because of Artemis' wishes, so there was no use in trying to argue her presence anymore. But something still just seemed _off_ about her, and he was probably going to drive himself crazy trying to figure out what it was by the time they were done with their quest.

He let out a deep sigh and relaxed into his seat. Cecil and Lou Ellen seemed to have gotten bored with their interrogations, as they were now chattering with each other about what might be waiting for them in Atlanta. Nico could hear Will's voice poking through every so often as he apologized to Mena for his nosy friends.

Nico closed his eyes, letting the warm voice echo in his mind; that, along with the sounds of the rain, was enabling his fatigue catch up with him.

He was on the verge of dozing off when the car's tires suddenly began to screech.

A few loud thumps and grunts of pain sounded behind him as he lurched in his own seat. The car was still moving, but something was _very_ wrong. All Nico could see through the windows were street lamps spiraling around the limo, and cries of panic sounded out as the sensation of falling backward took over.

His heart was racing again. He clung to his seat for dear life, his breath coming in quick, short gasps as the car finally slowed to a stop.

"Is everyone okay?" Will shouted from the back. "Nico? What about you?"

"F-Fine," Nico breathed, twisting around to peek through to the back. "What _happened_?"

Even Mena looked a bit shaken. "We hydroplaned," she answered, "it's raining so hard out there. The roads are very dangerous right now."

Nico swallowed thickly before turning to his chauffeur. "What happened, Jules-Albert?"

His answer came in the form of a loud _thunk_ from atop the car.

"M-Monster," Cecil stammered.

Jules-Albert seemed to notice that something was amiss, as he slammed his foot on the gas. All it really did was make the wheels spin; the ground was so wet that there was zero traction.

Lou Ellen let out a yelp and curled herself up on her seat, "I think we're in a ditch," she observed, looking out the back window. "Water's starting to seep up into the car!"

Nico opened his mouth to reply, but another loud _slam_ rattled the front of the car. He turned around and came face-to-face with an ugly pug-nosed face with bulging eyes. Through the rain-soaked windshield he could barely make out a pair of shriveled arms and large, leathery wings.

"Oh _shit_ ," he cursed, "Keres!"

He could hear the unearthly screeching of the beasts outside. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the others. "Okay guys, listen, we're going to have to shadow travel out-"

Nico didn't even finish his sentence before Mena opened a door and sprang out of the car, silver bow at the ready.

"What are you _doing_?!" he shouted after her, scrambling into the back area of the car.

"What does it _look like_ , di Angelo?" she shot back, voice drowned out by the rain as she shot a shining arrow into the air. "I'm _fighting_!"

"We've got to help her," Lou Ellen exclaimed, hurriedly pushing past Nico and jumping out to join the Hunter.

Cecil wasn't far behind. "Lou, wait!"

" _You guys_!" Nico shouted in exasperation. "You don't understand, these things are _really dangerous_! I've never even seen them outside of the Underworld!"

His only response were a few fiendish shrieks.

Clenching his fists, he swore again and turned to Will. "I don't suppose _you_ want to go out there too, do you?"

Will's expression was one of concern. "We have to, Nico," he replied, his voice uncharacteristically small. "We can't just- _I_ can't let them-"

Another loud slam atop the car, and the clawed hands of a Ker reached in through the door, its fanged face peeking in from the top.

Nico yelped and drew his sword as quickly as he could, slashing it across the monster's face.

It pulled itself out of the car with a loud shriek, and Nico took the opportunity to grab Will by the wrist and haul them both out of the limo while the monster was preoccupied.

He took a moment to assess the situation.

With the light of the one streetlamp nearby, he could see that about five or six Keres were hovering in midair, diving down to attack the others. Cecil seemed to be holding his own pretty well; Lou Ellen was trying to conceal their appearances with the Mist, which didn't seem to be too effective. Mena was crouched on the ground, a pained look on her face as she continued to fire her silver arrows into the air.

He nodded toward Will. "Mena looks like she's hurt, you go see to her. I'll help Cecil and Lou Ellen."

Even in the darkness, Nico could tell the son of Apollo was skeptical. "Di Angelo, you're not going to-"

"Just _go_ , Solace! I'll figure something out!"

Will gazed at him worriedly for a moment and then gave him a nod before running toward Mena. He just barely managed to dodge a Ker swooping down on him, and Nico immediately surged forward to drive his sword into the beast's chest.

The daimon exploded into golden dust, quickly getting swept away by the deluge of rain.

Nico took a second to steel himself before heading over to where Cecil was fighting. He'd done a decent enough job of fighting off the monsters, but now the boy was starting to look a bit winded.

"I can't keep up with this, di Angelo," he panted, "there's just too many of them…"

Nico clenched his teeth and let out a growl as he swing his sword in a wide arc above them, lopping the feet off of one of the remaining Keres. "What are they even _doing_ up here, is what I want to know!"

The Ker that he'd just attacked was now circling over them, golden ichor dripping from the stumps of its legs. As if it weren't ugly enough, now it looked absolutely _furious_ as it charged down toward the two boys again. Nico raised his sword again, ready to strike-

-but he found himself and Cecil tackled to the saturated ground before anything else could happen.

"Gods, that was too close," Lou Ellen's voice sounded from the sudden pile of limbs that Nico was stuck under.

Once he regained his bearings, he quickly scrambled away from the other two, then looked over to where he'd last seen Will and Mena. The former of the two had drawn his own bow, though he didn't seem to be doing as well as the injured Hunter. Nico noticed a scrap of fabric tied around her right thigh and cursed to himself - if any of them had gotten attacked…

He remembered full well what had happened the last time he'd been ambushed by Keres.

He had to get everyone out of there.

Lou Ellen's voice broke his thoughts. "Hey, Nico, Olympus to Nico!"

"What?" he replied, turning to look at her.

"I _said_ , I have an idea, but I'll need your help to pull it off," she repeated, fixing him with a serious stare.

"Okay then, do tell?"

"If you can get some of your skeleton dudes to help us out," she explained, "then I can use the Mist to disguise them as us. Like decoys."

Nico immediately caught on, giving the girl a nod. "And then I can shadow travel us out of here while the Keres are distracted. Got it." Pulling himself into a crouch, he placed his hand on the wet grass and concentrated. The ground began to split open around the three of them, five skeletons emerging from the crevices.

Lou Ellen was already at work manipulating the Mist around them. It only took a few seconds for the skeletons to become exact duplicates of the five of them. "I'm hiding us from view too, but I can't hold it for long. Get us out of here, Nico."

Giving her a nod, he sprang up and headed for the two archers, Lou Ellen and Cecil hot on his heels.

Will did not look amused. "Nico di Angelo, did I just see you summon-"

"There's no time for you to play _doctor_ , Solace. We need to leave while the Keres are preoccupied." He turned his attention to Mena, who fixed him with a look of distress. "Can you stand?"

She nodded and started pushing herself to her feet, but she let out a restrained groan as her right leg collapsed beneath her. Cecil and Lou Ellen were immediately at her side, each pulling one of her arms over their shoulders and supporting her body weight with their own.

Nico looked back to where his skeletons were. Sure enough, the daimons were swooping down to attack the decoys, which seemed to be holding up pretty well under the rain and attacks. Once he was sure they were in the clear, he reached down to pull Will to his feet, gripping Cecil's free arm with the other hand. "Alright, let's go. Everybody hold on."

Despite how dark it was outside, the street lamp still illuminated the area pretty well. After a quick scan of their surroundings, he motioned toward a large tree, quickly pulling the five of them into the shadows once they reached it.

* * *

He wasn't entirely sure where they'd ended up.

The only thing that Nico had been concentrating on as they plunged through the darkness was _somewhere safe_. Truthfully, there were no safe spaces for demigods outside of their camps. Not to mention, he hadn't even been sure of where they were when the Keres had attacked.

Wherever they were, it was still raining, though definitely not as severely as where they had been. It was more like a steady drizzle now, but as far as Nico could tell, they had landed on a different stretch of the same highway. He couldn't feel the Keres anywhere nearby, so at least, for now, they seemed to be out of imminent danger… or at least his companions were.

Nico's head began to swim as he was suddenly overwhelmed by dizziness. Whether it was from the use of his powers, or just the sheer _fatigue_ in his system, he wasn't sure. He could hear voices talking around him, but everything just sounded like a distant echo, like his head was underwater - and his body was so wet and cold that he almost believed he actually was.

He felt something warm grasp him under his shoulders, and in that moment, he felt weightless. Instinctively, he leaned forward, trying to find the source of the warmth; as soon as he felt it against his face and chest, he pressed himself closer to the source and coiled himself around it the best he could, desperate to rid his body of the intense shivers that were now coursing through him.

The feeling of weightlessness continued as he felt the source of the heat began to move, and the last thing he could see before blacking out were a few blurry lights passing overhead.

* * *

He opened his eyes to the same sky he remembered seeing before.

Nico let out a groan as he sat up, clutching the wet grass beneath him. It had stopped raining entirely, but the sky was still black with clouds. Even Nyx's sky would've had some stars poking through, though the thought did little to quell the sudden feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet. The dizziness had gone away, but his head really, _really_ hurt. The smell of petrichor hang in the air, so thick with that after-rain scent that he could have choked on it. Something was off about the smell, though, something he couldn't really pinpoint, something he could barely catch a whiff of every now and then…

He shook his head, deciding not to think much of it. More importantly, none of his companions seemed to be around.

Huh. Odd.

Several yards away, he could see a hill. He shrugged and started toward it, figuring that maybe everyone was on the other side; maybe they had found a place to make camp for the night…

Something silver caught his eye as he neared the base of the hill. Squinting at it, he picked up his pace and jogged over to it, eyes widening as he realized that that _something_ was a _person_.

Nico's jaw fell open as he gaped in horror at Mena's unconscious form. He knelt down next to her, instantly able to tell that her soul had already departed for the Underworld. Upon closer examination, the makeshift bandage on her leg had been torn away to reveal several long gashes along her thigh that already appeared to be going through some kind of necrosis.

The Keres had caught up to them.

His breath hitched as his gaze met her still-open eyes. That blue, so pale that it was almost white, had completely lost its life - that piercing, fiery gaze she'd locked onto him in their first meeting was nowhere to be found.

Nico cursed under his breath as he placed his hand over her face, pushing her eyes shut for her. Admittedly, he hadn't liked her much, but she'd still helped them on their quest. The way she had jumped out of the car and immediately started fighting off the daimons… Maybe she would go to Elysium for that. It was the least he could hope for her.

He stood up and stepped over her body, his throat painfully constricted.

Breathing a solemn sigh, he started to ascend the hill. His feet felt like they were made of lead, and he ended up slipping on the wet grass more than once. He was almost on his hands and knees as he reached the middle of the hill, choking out a gasp as he saw what now laid before him.

Cecil lying atop Lou Ellen, both bodies bloody and unresponsive. Cecil's back was almost completely shredded, as if the Keres' claws had continuously slashed and dug into him. From what Nico could tell, Lou Ellen hadn't fared much better - judging from the amount of blood he could see soaking into the ground beneath them, her injuries had to have been just as severe, if not more.

 _He must've been trying to protect her,_ Nico thought as he stared down at them, his breath starting to come in ragged gasps. He gripped his chest, a flash of pain surging through him - this shouldn't have happened to them. They shouldn't have come on the quest. Why had they come? Why had they put themselves in harm's way like this? Why hadn't they _listened to Will_ -

Will.

Nico's pulse painfully throbbed in his ears as he bolted further up the hill, desperately searching for any sign of the blond. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be _real_. This was his fault, if he hadn't pushed himself so hard that he'd passed out, they would've had a chance to get away, they should've just left him behind, they should've just…

As he reached the top of the hill, his energy completely left him, and he collapsed into the grass below. His lungs were screaming for breath, and his vision blurred as a familiar, painful heat welled up behind his eyes.

He crawled forward as fast as his burning muscles could take him. His breaths were coming so fast that it felt like his chest was going to burst, and he fought to stay alert and coherent as hot tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He dug his fingers into the damp soil as he came to a stop, hovering over what he'd been looking for.

 _Will_.

The son of Apollo's body was battered and broken, his clothes torn and shredded and revealing the fatal wounds beneath. Hesitantly, Nico rested his fingertips against Will's throat, feeling for his heartbeat.

It was still there. Just barely.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Nico cupped the blond's face in his hands. Will's gaze was hazy and unfocused, and undoubtedly he was close to death himself - Nico could feel Will's spirit starting to separate from his body.

But he wasn't going to have that.

"Will," he choked out, fingers grasping at his hair, "look at me. Focus. I'm here now, you're going to be fine, okay? You-" He paused as the full force of his emotions hit him all at once, and it was all he could do not to asphyxiate on his own words.

"Listen here, Solace, don't you _do_ this to me!" Nico's hands were shaking, _gods_ they were shaking, and his tears now fell freely, intermingling with the blood spatters on Will's face. " _You're_ the healer here, _you're_ the one who's always like _don't push yourself too hard, Death Boy_ , you can't just die like this!"

He didn't even realize that he'd bent down close enough to rest his forehead against Will's until he felt the lightest of touches on the side of his face. A brush of fingertips, a confirmation.

Nico tightly gripped that hand, never breaking his gaze from Will's. "Don't do this. I- I _can't_ lose someone else that I-"

The light faded from the sun's eyes.

He felt it happen. He felt Will's soul depart, making its way to the Underworld.

He didn't want to believe it.

Breath coming in ragged gasps, he slowly lowered his head to rest against Will's chest, desperately searching for that heartbeat he'd found earlier.

Nothing.

Nico's grief burst from him in a torrent of shadows. A hurricane of black wind spiraling around him, tearing through his surroundings as he clung to Will's lifeless body like it was his lifeline. The temperature instantly dropped to sub-zero as he screeched and released every emotion within him

the pain

the agony

the sheer _hatred_ he felt for those terrible monsters who did this

he would kill them _all_

send them straight to the deepest pits of Tartarus and even down to the abyss of Chaos where their very essence would be ripped apart in the Void and he honestly didn't care if the Void took him too

because everything was too much, _too much_ , he was fading fading _fading_ into the dark becoming the dark becoming the Void becoming everything and nothing at all the only thing left behind were his screams of sorrow and pain and hate and rage and he was shivering and yet blazing at the same time and

 _nothingness_

He woke.

Nico shot upward, gasping for air as if he'd been drowning. His heart was pounding so quickly and so _hard_ that it made him dizzy, his blood felt like it was boiling beneath his icy skin.

When he finally managed to catch his breath a little bit, he took a moment to look around and just… _process_.

He was in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room - a hotel room, maybe? - that he had no recollection of ever entering. The last thing he could recall before his nightmare was shadow traveling his group away from the Keres; everything after that was sort of foggy. He vaguely remembered something warm, and bright lights…

Nico wasn't alone in the room, and he was okay with that. _Very_ okay.

He was facing a decently-sized sleeper sofa, which Cecil was passed out on. The boy was lying on his belly, gripping the pillow beneath him. He was shirtless, leaving his unmarred back visible, which was a relief to Nico because he'd _seen_ how horribly his body had been torn apart in that dream. Now the only danger he seemed to be in was falling into the puddle of drool that had collected on his pillow.

To his left was another bed, a queen size, which Mena and Lou Ellen were fast asleep in. Nico never thought he'd be so glad to see the steady rise and fall of the Hunter's chest as she slept, and he could hear soft snores coming from Lou Ellen. They were alive, and he buried his face in his hands as he felt himself relax.

He slowly turned to his right, seeing the large window on the far end of the room, and right beside him laid Will. Also shirtless. Various articles of clothing were scattered around the room, really, which wasn't that surprising because the five of them had been soaked from head to toe during the battle with the Keres. Nico rested a quivering hand against his chest, only to find that his own shirt and jacket were also gone. He was too emotionally drained to feel embarrassed about that.

He focused on Will, a feeling of tightness forming in his chest and throat. Seeing Will dying in that dream was like…

There weren't any words that could accurately describe how Nico felt. Terror, agony, misery, fury - all complete understatements.

He had to know, had to reassure himself that Will was actually there. The blond was laying with his back to Nico, and he could see that he was breathing, but…

Cautiously, almost _fearfully_ , Nico rested a trembling hand against Will's tanned back. His death senses may have confirmed that _yes_ , Will was safe, and _no_ , his spirit had not left his body, but… he had to feel Will's heartbeat. He had to know for sure.

Will suddenly snorted and shifted in his sleep, and Nico yanked his hand away. He'd felt how utterly _warm_ the other boy was, and for now, that was enough.

As for Nico, his body still felt like it was on fire, and he could feel the copious amounts of sweat drying on his skin.

He didn't want to go back to sleep.

Heaving a sigh, he pulled his legs over the side of the bed and tentatively pushed himself up. His legs seemed like they would support him for the time being, so he carefully shuffled his way through the room in search of a sink or bathroom.

The dim light coming from the entryway was enough to see by, and once he turned the corner, he headed into the bathroom and turned the light on.

The cool, refreshing water felt good against his face. After patting himself dry, he took a moment to look into the mirror and grimaced at his reflection. He… definitely looked like he'd seen better days. He didn't have any severe injuries, just a few bumps and bruises here and there. The ever-present scars on his shoulder from when he'd fought Lycaon were still angrily red and tender to the touch. As far as his body went, eh, he didn't like looking at it but it could've been _much_ worse than it was.

His face, however, was a different story.

Nico leaned closer to the mirror and scowled. The circles under his eyes were darker than ever, and his eyes themselves were rimmed with red as if he'd been crying for hours. His black hair was completely disheveled, and though he'd been able to cool himself down a bit, his heavy flush still stood out against his pale skin. He wasn't really sure what to make of it.

He sighed again, rubbing at his eyes. This quest was going to be the death of him.

"Nico?"

The sudden voice startled him so badly that he jumped back and very nearly crashed into the bathtub.

"Whoa, whoa, dude, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," the voice continued. When Nico properly uprighted himself against the edge of the tub, he found himself face-to-face with Will Solace.

"What," Nico replied flatly. He kind of felt like he should be more surprised to see him than he was.

Will shuffled into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "What are you doing up? You should be in bed."

He glared at the blond. "I could ask you the same thing, Solace."

Will gave him a shrug, leaning against the counter. "I woke up, saw you weren't there, and came to find you. Simple as that."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "Okay, so you found me. Why are you still here, then?"

"To make sure you're alright, damnit," Will replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You passed out after we shadow travelled away-"

"If you're going to lecture me about using my powers then you can eat my ass," Nico snapped, gripping the edge of the bathtub. "Do you even realize how dangerous those Keres were? We all could've _died_ out there, I had no other choice!"

Will looked a bit taken aback by the outburst. He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Yeah, you… you did get us out of there. Thanks for that."

Nico huffed in response. He was feeling warm again, but this time it was different - he wasn't face-to-face with Will so much as he was face-to- _abs_. Will _sure did_ have a set of abs on him.

He forced himself to look literally anywhere else.

"So, where exactly are we?" Nico changed the subject.

Will placed his hands on the counter, leaning back a bit. "North Carolina. A bit south of Charlotte. I don't know how your shadow travel really works, but somehow you took us to this motel. Figured it'd be better to crash here for a night instead of make camp outside where the Keres could find us again."

"Uh huh, and how did we even get _in_?"

"Lou Ellen," Will smirked, "she did the Mist-y thing and got us a room by pretending to be an adult with money. It was pretty great."

Nico looked down at his feet, biting his lip. A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke up again. "Is everyone else okay?"

Will nodded at him, glancing up at the ceiling. "Yeah, for the most part. Cecil ended up with a few cuts and scrapes and Lou came out unscathed. Mena got some pretty nasty gashes on her leg, though. She wouldn't let me treat them."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's a Hunter thing. Men are the devil, you can't trust them, bluh bluh bluh." He paused, thinking about the implications of the injury. "You don't want to be injured by a Ker if you can help it. They're daimons of violent death, and disease and pestilence. Their poison, if left untreated, can and _will_ kill you. Percy got attacked by one on a quest once, and he almost died... things like that can only be treated by the gods themselves."

Will's eyes widened in sudden panic. "So Mena… she could…"

"Most likely," Nico cut him off. "...Probably. I don't know. Hunter immortality is weird. They can only die if killed in battle, but I really don't know if a sustained injury, like a poisoning, counts toward that."

"So all we can do is wait and see?" Will's face fell at the nod he received in response.

Several long, uncomfortable moments of silence passed before Will sighed and moved to sit down on the toilet in front of Nico. "How are _you_ feeling, though?"

Nico fidgeted and edged himself away a bit. "I'm fine, Solace."

"You don't look fine."

"Do we _really_ have to do this right now?"

"Yes, we do," Will grasped one of Nico's hands and checked for his pulse. "You haven't used your powers in a few weeks, and I'm still afraid of you overexerting yourself."

"I'm _fine_ ," Nico repeated, tugging his hand away.

"Nico."

" _Lay off_ , Solace."

"Please."

Nico lifted his head to glare at the son of Apollo, and was met with a pair of very concerned blue eyes. He felt his words die in his throat, and all he could do was hang his head in response. "I'm... I'm just _tired_. Of everything. Gods, Will, I'm _so tired_ …"

Will took his hand again and attempted to pull him up. "Then let's get back to bed," he offered.

"That's not what I meant. My _mind_ is tired. Between everything that's happened - when Percy disappeared, when I searched for the Doors of Death, and the war and all of that shit, and now this - I feel like I haven't had any time to fucking _breathe_."

"...I know what you mean," Will replied quietly, running his free hand through his hair. "That's all the more reason to try and get some sleep, though, especially since you shadow traveled. I still don't think you're completely up to speed."

Nico shook his head. "I don't… want to go back to sleep."

"But you need the rest."

Will's tone of voice was soft and even, and Nico felt his throat constrict. His body was trembling again, and he subconsciously gripped Will's hand tighter.

Silence.

"Hey…" Will knelt down in front of him, attempting to meet his eyes. "What's wrong? Talk to me, Nico."

Nico grasped Will's hand the same way he had in his dream. "I," he nearly choked on his words, "I had a nightmare. About the Keres attack."

"It's okay. You can talk to me," Will gently urged, clasping Nico's hand in both of his. "If you're alright with that. I won't force you to remember it."

But Nico already was. He quietly recounted the dream to Will, how he woke up and saw the hill, how Mena lay dead at the base of it. How he'd found Cecil and Lou Ellen together, their bodies nearly torn apart. How he'd found Will…

"There wasn't anything I could do but watch you d- watch you die. I felt your soul leave your body, and I- I tried to find your heartbeat, but I couldn't," he whispered, trying his damndest to hold back the sobs that were threatening to force themselves out again.

Will didn't respond. Nico's gaze was fixed on their joined hands; the blond's thumb was rubbing soft circles against Nico's knuckles.

"Look at me, Nico."

He slowly lifted his head to meet Will's eyes.

"I'm here now. You're going to be fine, okay?"

Nico's breath caught in his throat. Those had been the exact words he'd spoken so desperately as he watched Will die.

Will reached up to push a strand of thick black hair behind Nico's ear. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. What kind of doctor would I be if I up and left my patient like that? What kind of _friend_ would I be…?"

Nico silently watched him for a moment, then sighed softly and closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. "You're not a doctor," was the only thing he could think of to reply with.

He could almost hear Will smirk. "That'll change someday." He withdrew his hand from Nico's hair and stood up, giving him a tug. "C'mon, buddy, let's try to get some sleep."

All Nico could do was nod in response as he pushed himself off the edge of the bathtub. "W-wait a second," he murmured as Will opened the door and started pulling him out of the bathroom. The other boy paused and looked back at Nico, raising an eyebrow.

Biting down on his lip, Nico stepped closer and pressed his free hand against Will's chest, feeling for his heartbeat.

 _Thump. Thump._

Reassurance.

Will could only stare down at him in a sad sort of confusion as Nico pulled his hand away like he'd gotten burnt. Nico gave him a short nod, and as they headed back toward the beds, Will draped an arm around his shoulders. For once, Nico didn't shy away. Will was warm. _Gods_ , was he warm. It was the same kind of warmth that Nico remembered feeling when he'd passed out after shadow travelling them to the motel.

Nico eased himself back into bed, feeling the mattress sink as Will did the same. His body tensed as he felt Will scoot closer to him; he could still feel the heat radiating off of the boy.

Try as he might, Nico couldn't stave off the guilt that he felt for unloading onto Will like he had. He didn't want to burden anyone else with his weird problems, but Will… Will was almost _too_ easy to talk to. For once, Nico kind of appreciated it. "Thank you," he muttered before he could stop himself.

He could feel Will's breath on the back of his neck as he chuckled softly. "Anytime, Death Boy," he replied quietly.

Nico started to respond to the nickname, but once he felt the warm weight of Will's hand on his back, he thought better of it.


	6. The Partial Prophecy

Nico awakened feeling more comfortable than he could recall in recent memory.

Okay, well, his body was still pretty sore, he had to admit that. But the numbness of sleep had yet to leave him, so at the moment he could only yawn drowsily and snuggle deeper into the mattress and blankets. He was surrounded by an indescribable warmth that he didn't want to let go of just yet; he could feel it clinging to him like the heat of the sun itself.

Literally.

The hazy bliss abruptly left his mind as he felt said heat tighten around him, and he turned to peek over his shoulder, only to be met with a mop of messy blond hair pressed into his back.

It took about two seconds for the realization to hit, and he shrieked and tore himself from Will's grasp with so much force that he rolled off of the bed and into the floor with a loud crash.

"Son of a…" Nico rubbed his head from where he fell into the nightstand. Once he shook off the dazed feeling that the impact had given him, he hauled himself into a kneeling position next to the bed.

It took him a moment to realize that the laughter he was hearing wasn't an auditory hallucination, but actual laughter that was happening inside the room.

"You owe me ten drachmas, Cecil," Lou Ellen quipped, amusement evident in her voice.

Nico turned his attention toward the sleeper sofa. Lou Ellen was perched on the sofa's arm, while Cecil had curled himself up next to her in the seat, clutching a bag of popcorn. Both of them were cracking up; even Mena seemed amused as she sat on the other bed, quietly chuckling at the scenario.

"C'mon, Lou, I don't even have ten drachmas!" Cecil complained halfheartedly, batting at her hand that was trying to steal some popcorn.

Nico gaped at them as he leaned against the side of the bed, clutching the sheets in his fingers. "I- What even-"

Not that he could make himself say anything to begin with, but his train of thought was derailed even further when he noticed Will sitting up in the bed they had shared, sleepily rubbing at his face. "Buh… what's going on, what's funny?" he slurred, a yawn cutting off the latter portion of his question.

Gods of _Olympus_ that boy was adorable when he was sleepy. It was kind of unfair. Nico felt his face heat up and pushed those thoughts back as far into his mind as he could, gaze shifting back to the sofa.

"We were waiting to see how long it would take for one of you to wake up and realize what you were doing," Cecil explained, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "Lou won the bet, unfortunately."

"I'm pretty sure you owe me an extra five drachmas for correctly predicting that di Angelo would flip out and fall off the bed."

"Ugh, you're breakin' my _balls_ here, Lou!"

Mena let out a snort from her position on the other bed. Nico glared at the two, mildly horrified.

Will finally spoke up again, sounding much more awake. "Wait, you guys _bet_ on us?"

Lou Ellen giggled and nodded. "Don't act like it's the first time, Will. By the way, Nico, did we ever tell you that he's a cuddler?"

Nico's face might as well have been on fire, he was so flushed. He groaned and dropped his face down into the mattress. "I might've missed that little detail," he replied, voice muffled.

Physical contact was a pretty touchy subject with him. ( _Gods_ , Nico thought, _now_ that's _a pun that Percy would appreciate._ ) He was still very uncomfortable with it, for the most part - Hazel was really the only one who had Nico-contact privileges. Of course, that didn't stop others from trying; he'd grudgingly accepted the shoulder pats and hair ruffling that came courtesy of Jason and Percy, usually countering them with an eyeroll and a halfhearted hand wave.

Will… was sort of on a different level than that.

Considering how much he'd been manhandled by the healer during the battle with Gaea's forces and his subsequent stay in the infirmary, it wasn't that far-fetched to say that Nico was used to his touch. He was kind of okay with it, in all honesty. Will was always very careful and gentle with his hands, conditioned by his work in the infirmary - he handled every wound, on Nico and other campers alike, with the utmost care and patience.

On top of that, Nico had also noticed that he was starting to shrink away from Will's friendly touches less and less, and if the night before had been any indication, maybe Nico was even starting to actively seek them out himself. He had no idea what to do with this information.

But as far as he was concerned, that was limited to hands only. Full-on _cuddling_ , as Cecil had put it, was waaaaay out of his jurisdiction, even if it had been warm and comfortable and _safe_ and blissful-

A skeletal butterfly lodged itself in his throat.

He had started to lift his head back up when he felt a set of fingers slide into his dark hair, giving it a ruffle. "Sorry about that, Spooks," Will's voice sounded from overhead. Nico peered up at him through his eyelashes, swallowing thickly as he saw the sheepish grin on the other boy's face. "It's kind of a thing that happens. I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time, truthfully."

 _It wasn't_ that _bad, you only had an unfairly attractive guy clinging to your back like a baby koala for several hours,_ the hormonal part of Nico's mind wanted to think. _Shut up, how is he not covered in skeletons yet?!_ the more rational part of him retorted.

His response was something of a medium between the two: completely neutral. "Yeah, well, whatever. You got off easy this time, Solace." He paused and stood up to stretch out, his back popping audibly. "We should probably think about heading out soon."

Thankfully, his change of subject was well received by the others. "We took the liberty of getting everyone's clothes dried off. You're welcome," Lou Ellen said, gesturing to a small pile of clothing sitting on a nearby counter; she and Mena were already dressed. Nico was all too thrilled to get up and retrieve his own clothes from the pile.

The daughter of Hecate slid off the arm of the couch and continued. "Anyway, since Cecil's being a butt and not sharing his popcorn," she glanced over to the aforementioned 'butt', who stuck out his tongue and clutched the bag to his chest, "Mena and I are ditching you smelly boys to see if we can score some grub."

"Rude," Will quipped as the two girls got up to head for the door. "Bring us back something, at least?" He received an eyeroll and a nod in response.

As they headed out the door, Mena paused and turned her head to fix her gaze on Will. "By the way, Solace, that 'Oracle friend' of yours - have you tried getting in touch with her yet?"

Will blinked at her, a look of realization forming on his face. "Oh yeah, Rachel. Uh, yeah, we'll do that. Thanks for reminding me."

Mena gave him a short nod, and then the girls were gone.

* * *

The boys had some conflicting opinions on how to handle the Iris-message. Nico would've much rather gotten it over with right then and there, because as far as he was concerned, the sooner they got this out of the way, the sooner they could get back on the road. Will argued that they should wait for Lou Ellen and Mena to return, because what if something happened, something important? Cecil didn't really care either way; he was content to silently watch the other two bicker about it while eating his popcorn, as if he were _enjoying the show_.

"Do you even realize how much of a _time schedule_ we might be on, Solace? We don't have time to sit around and argue about this like four-year-olds."

"It's not going to take _that long_ for them to get back, Death Boy, there's vending machines all over this place. Would you rather have to explain everything to them afterward, or let them hear the initial conversation so you won't have to?"

"At least all the talking could be done _on the road_ , like we should've been a long time ago. We shouldn't have even stayed here!"

"Okay, for one thing, you did the shadow thing-"

"Because the Keres were going to _murder_ us, idiot!"

"- _explicitly against doctor's orders_ , and you know for a _fact_ that we were all exhausted and banged up anyway. We had no choice but to stop. Also, if you hadn't noticed, your driver kind of got stuck in a ditch."

"Whatever, he's fine, I can summon him from anywhere. He probably bailed right after we did."

"Fair point, but still: you needed to _rest_ , Nico. You literally passed out as soon as we got here."

"I'm _fine_ , I've told you that like a million times already!"

"And if you were _actually fine_ , then why _did_ you pass out?"

"I…" Nico fell silent. Will had him on that one.

The blond smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Uh huh, that's what I thought. Solace 3, di Angelo 0, I believe is the count?"

"You are the most _profoundly annoying_ demigod I have ever met in my entire life, and I know _Percy Jackson_."

"Love you too, Ghost Kid." Eyebrow wiggle.

Nico felt like his entire head had erupted, as if he'd been punched in the face by a flaming Leo Valdez. He buried his face in his hands and let out a loud groan. Will Solace was going to be the death of him - that is, if Nico himself didn't die of embarrassment first.

"I cannot _believe_ you-"

The door opened, and Lou Ellen's voice called out. "We got donuts!"

And there was another point for Solace: they'd wasted so much time bickering that the girls returned before they could even come to a decision regarding the Iris-message. Nico flopped down onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow, letting out what would later be referred to by Cecil as Cthulhu noises.

"Ooooh, someone's a grump!"

It really was a ridiculous scene: Nico laying face down on the bed, looking very much like a child having a tantrum - which wasn't far off the mark, to be honest - while Will just sat back looking like he'd just won a million bucks. And then there was Cecil off to the side, staring and eating his popcorn like he was in the middle of watching the latest hit movie.

Nico lifted his head with a scowl as he heard Mena speak up. "Looks like you all had a lot of _fun_ while we were gone."

Will laughed and patted Nico on the shoulder as he sat back up. Just when the son of Hades was certain that his blush had faded, he felt a warm breath against his ear. "Four-zero."

Nico backed away so abruptly that he nearly fell off the bed again.

"So, now that we're all here and we have a boatload of donuts," Cecil started, crumpling up the empty popcorn bag, "how 'bout that Iris-message?"

Will nodded and dug around in his pocket for a moment, retrieving the crystal that Butch had given him. "Okay, I'm gonna try something, and if it works it'll make our lives much easier."

Having finally fought off his embarrassment, Nico let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms, quirking an eyebrow as he curiously watched Will. The son of Apollo took a moment to run a finger across the back of his hand, a golden glow trailing after it as if sunlight had been embedded beneath his skin. He then turned his hand palm-up and inhaled slowly, closing his eyes.

The others remained silent as they watched him. Cecil and Lou Ellen held the same look of curiosity as Nico was feeling, and he glanced over at Mena to see a small smile on her face, that familiar glint back in her pale eyes. Confused, he eyed her for a moment - seriously, what was _with_ this girl - before Lou Ellen's startled gasp distracted him.

He turned back to Will, and his own breath hitched in his throat when he saw a small flicker, a golden tendril of light sprouting up from the palm of Will's hand. The light slowly coiled and wrapped around itself, gradually forming a small ball of white-gold light that Nico found he couldn't look at directly, no matter how badly he wanted to.

The son of the sun god had created his own tiny sun in the palm of his hand.

Nico was completely mesmerized.

Will opened his eyes and dropped Butch's crystal into the ball of light, and in an instant, the room became flooded with rainbows, vibrant colors dancing across each and every surface.

He turned to Nico and smiled, a soft look in his eyes. "Drachma?"

Nico couldn't even respond. His gaze shifted from Will's hand to his face, and any words he might've had on the tip of his tongue dissolved completely. The way the light was reflecting in the boy's eyes, the way the colors wrapped around him, the shear _heat_ he was radiating - for a moment, Nico almost wondered if he was in a dream, or if he was dead and seeing visions of Elysium itself. And the way those clear blue eyes pierced through his own, as if they were the only two people in the room…

Nico couldn't remember the last time he'd seen something - _someone_ \- so beautiful.

The moment was ruined when Mena coughed idly, and Nico fought the urge to glare at her. She stepped forward and dug around in the pocket of her silver coat, fishing out a small moon-white orb - a marble. She wordlessly tossed it into the air, into the all-encompassing rainbows, and to everyone's surprise, it vanished completely. Iris had accepted the token.

"This is all that I can spare, so make this message count," she said quietly, locking eyes with Will.

He blinked at her, a confused look on his face, but he nodded and exhaled slowly. "Show us Rachel Elizabeth Dare at Camp Jupiter."

The rainbows quickly gave way to a lovely shot of New Rome at night: few people were out on the streets, but the city was lit up with the many lights of the houses and shops that lined the main plaza. And seated on the edge of the magnificent three-tier fountain in the heart of the plaza was Rachel, heavily focused on a sketchbook and - strangely enough - wearing a miner's helmet.

"Hey, Rachel!" Will called into the message.

The redhead looked up, the spotlight on her helmet shining directly back at them. "Oh, hey guys! What's up?"

"Just checking in, I guess. You know we're headed your way, right?"

Rachel nodded with a bright smile. "Yep. Reyna made sure to inform all of us, so we're just trying to deal with all this other stuff until you get here. You know, Ella and me working on the Sibylline Books, the Senate trying to solve the problem of this lack of sun, that kind of stuff…"

Will wrinkled his nose. "So mortals can tell too…?"

"Well, I can at least. You know, being able to see through the Mist and all. Why, is everyone else going berserk over it?"

"No, see, that's the thing. Regular mortals don't even seem to notice. We were in D.C. the other day-"

"Was that yesterday or the day before?" Cecil popped in.

"I don't even know, time's been weird ever since this started, we never know if it's technically day or not. But all of the shops and stuff were still bustling, everyone going about their business and such."

"The Mist is really working overtime to cover this up," Lou Ellen added. "The last thing we all need is for the entire country thrown into mass chaos."

"Yeah, all of those apocalypse preppers will come out of their houses all like 'I knew it! The end is nigh! Women and children first!' And that ain't something we wanna deal with," Cecil groaned, dropping his head onto Lou Ellen's shoulder.

Nico cast a glance at them and frowned.

 _This is the edge of existence. The final death._

Cecil was more on point than he even realized.

Rachel scoffed and shook her head. "Don't I know it. But yeah, that's what's been going on over here. What about you guys, where are you even at? Any luck on your side?"

All eyes shifted to Nico, and he shot them a glare before sighing in defeat. "I have some idea," he started, "but I'd really rather wait until everyone else is present before I explain in full-"

"Is that Nico?" A familiar voice called from Rachel's end of the message. Nico's ears perked up at the sound just in time to see Hazel poking her head into the message, closely followed by Frank. "It is!" Hazel continued, smiling widely.

"Hey, Hazel," Nico gave her a small smile, "Frank."

"Aww, you guys came to talk while in the middle of your date, isn't that cute," Rachel teased playfully, the two Romans blushing in response.

"Date, you say?" Nico raised an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes at Frank. "Keeping your hands to yourself, Zhang?"

"Ah, well…" The praetor rubbed at the back of his neck, his blush deepening. Months ago that flush would have been perfectly at home on Frank's baby face, but after receiving the Blessing of Mars, it seemed a bit out-of-place with his muscles and leaner features.

Hazel pouted and stuck her tongue out at her brother. "He's been a perfect gentleman, I'll have you know." Nico only chuckled in response, shaking his head.

The group chatted idly for a little while, getting reacquainted and catching each other up on the things that had happened since the Romans left Camp Half-Blood.

"So you're still not getting any prophecies either, huh," Will addressed Rachel with a frown.

She shook her head, mirroring his expression. "Nope. I haven't heard anything at all from Apollo, which I guess would be attributed to him being powerless and stuck at camp."

"See, it's so frustrating, because we really don't have much to go on for this quest. Aside from what we've learned from Artemis, we're kinda just taking a shot in the dark at most of this."

"Yeah, I can't even imagine how much that must suck-" Rachel's body suddenly went completely rigid, and Frank and Hazel had to rush to her side to keep her from falling backward into the fountain.

"Should we go get Reyna?" Hazel asked Frank, slight panic evident in her voice.

But there was no need to, as the oracle lurched forward, toward the message window. Her appearance was wild: small streaks of gold had found their way into her unruly red curls, and her eyes had gone pure white, giving off as much light as the miniature sun held in Will's palm.

Will grunted in response, and Nico worriedly looked over at him - he was pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand, eyes squeezed shut in what appeared to be pain. The Iris-message flickered, the image going staticy like a broken television.

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, the voice soft and gentle but completely unrecognizable.

 _When one sun falls, another shall rise_ _  
_ _A long lost legacy to ignite the skies_

Once the words left her mouth, her body went slack, and Frank caught her under her arms as she fell unconscious.

"I'll take her to Reyna," he said, hefting her up in his arms. "Hazel, stay with them?"

Hazel nodded as her boyfriend dashed off, and gazed worriedly at the rest of the group. "What happened, was that a prophecy or-"

Will's concentration finally broke, and the light in his hand dissipated, ending the message. He opened his eyes again, but sweat was running down his brow and his breathing was labored. "I… crap, I lost it. But whatever that was, I- I felt it too…"

"Dare is the vessel for the Oracle of Delphi, correct?" Mena questioned. "But that isn't how the Oracle takes control."

"No, it wasn't the Oracle," Will confirmed, "but from what I hear she's been taken over by other gods before, relaying calls to us."

Nico nodded. "Yeah, she was briefly taken over by Hera when she was captured by Porphyrion. But that couldn't have been her again, could it? It doesn't match up with how Annabeth described it."

Mena bit her lip, narrowing her eyes in thought. "I have a slight suspicion. But I can't be sure."

"The last time I heard those words, it was my dad telling me that we're dealing with Nyx and so far it hasn't been proven otherwise. So _spill_."

The Hunter glowered at him, daring him to challenge her words. "Not now, di Angelo. I want to make sure of something else first."

Will turned to look at her, worry evident on his face. "Please, Mena. It might give us something to go on. The prophecy itself didn't really say much…"

"That's because for one, it seems incomplete. But if you think it may give us a lead, then fine." She heaved a sigh. "I _think_ \- don't you dare quote me on that because I may be wrong - that Dare may have been receiving a transmission from the goddess of dawn."

"Eos?" Lou Ellen piped up. "Shouldn't she be faded, if both Helios and Selene are? They're all siblings, right?"

Mena's gaze softened as she addressed Lou Ellen's question. "They are. They're all children of Hyperion. But her status is unknown. Most assume that she _has_ faded completely, as with her siblings, but I have my doubts about that."

Nico squinted at her suspiciously. "How do you just _know_ this?"

He received a sharp glare in response. "I told you, di Angelo, I'm not a hundred percent certain. But if you must know - I've seen her communicate through mortals before. Did you see Dare's eyes? They were like the Sun itself. Not much different from Solace's little light show."

"Makes sense, I guess," Will muttered, looking down at his hands. "Eos and Apollo aren't so different, really. She's the goddess of dawn, Apollo drives the sun chariot... there's no real _reason_ for her to still be alive if her siblings are faded, but if she's using Rachel as a vessel..."

He trailed off, a heavy silence permeating the air.

"So… what do we do now?" Cecil asked quietly, fidgeting in his seat. "The prophecy... we knew about the sun falling and rising part, but 'a long lost legacy to ignite the skies'? What does that even mean?"

"It means," Nico cut in, standing up, "that we should get going. We can discuss it more on the way to Atlanta. But we have _seriously_ got to get a move on, we've wasted more than enough time here."

* * *

Nico had never been happier to be sitting in a McDonald's.

"Geez, di Angelo, you act like you haven't eaten in a week," Cecil observed before stuffing a chicken nugget in his mouth.

"Shut up, I've been craving this since D.C.," the son of Hades replied after taking a long sip of his drink. "And before you say anything, Solace, you said you could deal with it _one time_."

Will rolled his eyes, spearing some lettuce onto his fork. "Yes, yes, I know. I didn't say I wasn't going to try and set an example for you, though. Salads are good!" He gestured over to where Mena was sitting with her own salad. "See, I'm not the only one who thinks so!"

"Technically, those salads have as many calories as a regular cheeseburger," Lou Ellen cut in, stealing a nugget from Cecil's box. "I'd rather go for the tasty option than rabbit food, I gotta say."

Nico snorted, choking a couple of fries down. "Heh. Rabbit food. I'm just going to call you Bunny from now on, Solace."

"I'm not a bunny," Will pouted, "and if you're going to call me one at least make it cute and affectionate! Like, what about... " He ignored Nico's flat stare as he tapped his chin in thought. "Ah, I got it. _Bunshine_."

"Bunshine," Cecil sputtered. "That's terrible even by Hermes kid standards!"

"I am not going to call you _Bunshine_ , Solace, I can't believe you would even suggest something _cute and affectionate_ ," Nico replied with a glare, crossing his arms.

The conversation was quickly halted when Mena suddenly stood up, her eyes fixed on a couple of people who had just entered, one holding a newspaper. The others watched her curiously as she stalked over to the duo and exchanged a few inaudible words with them. One nodded and handed the newspaper over to her, and she gave her own nod in gratitude before heading back to the table.

"So, you all wanted a lead?" She asked, slapping the paper down on the table. "Well, here it is."

Nico squinted at the paper for a moment before leaning in closer, reading off the headline. "'Senior Citizen Becomes Local Legend. Claims to be Thousands of Years Old.' What _is_ this, Mena?"

"It's something we should probably check out," Lou Ellen offered. "I mean, he may just be a senile old fart spouting off nonsense, but it's not like Thalia gave us anything else to go off on when we arrived here in Atlanta."

Nico shifted his gaze over to Will. "Well, you're the leader here. You think it's worth looking into?"

Will nodded. "Yeah. It's at least a start. If nothing comes out of it, then we can't say we didn't try." He looked up at Mena, flashing her a grin. "Nice catch! You heard those guys talking from way over here?"

She nodded in response, a smug grin of her own forming on her face. "Sure did. So, shall we?"

* * *

According to the newspaper, the elderly person took residence in a center called Sunrise at Buckhead, which was only about a mile or so away from the McDonald's. The group of teens hopped off of the bus and gazed up at the three-story complex as they approached.

"'Sunrise'. You think that means anything?" Cecil observed as they entered the lobby.

"Possibly," Will replied, heading straight for the front desk.

The middle-aged receptionist looked up from her work and narrowed her eyes at the group of five, a suspicious look on her face. "Can I help you?"

Will rubbed at the back of his neck. "Um, hi. We came to see about the, uh… the thousand-year-old guy?"

She pursed her lips, squinting her mousy eyes even further. "Mr. Memnon has requested that his father receive no guests. The press has been hounding us enough as it is, ever since that silly _rumor_ started."

 _Memnon_. Nico exchanged a glance with Will. Something about that sounded familiar.

"Could we at least speak with Mr. Memnon, then?" Will asked. "It's kind of important."

The receptionist let out an indignant huff. "Fine, but only for a moment. We don't have time to entertain a group of teenagers looking for material for their Facebook walls."

The group was led to a small sitting area in the lobby while they waited for the man. "You don't think it's like, _actual_ Memnon, do you?" Lou Ellen asked, swinging her feet under her chair. "Like actual Trojan warrior Memnon?"

"It couldn't be," Nico argued. "It's probably just a coincidence."

"How many people do you know named _Memnon_ , Death Boy?" Will raised an eyebrow at him, draping his arms over the back of the sofa.

"Actually, there are several of them throughout history," Mena cut in. "There's Memnon the warrior, Saint Memnon from Egypt, Memnon of Rhodes, of Heraclea…" She counted off the names on her fingers as she spoke.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat. "Ms. Nesbitt said you wished to speak with me?"

Nico looked up at the speaker. The man certainly looked like a Trojan soldier: his skin was a light bronze color, and his close-cropped hair brought out the hard lines of his jaw. He looked somewhat agitated as he crossed his muscular arms across his chest.

Mena stood, fixing him with her intense gaze. "Memnon, king of Aethiopia. We need to speak with you about your father."

Memnon's eyes briefly flashed in recognition, and his expression softened. "...I see. Demigods, I presume?" He received silent nods from the others. "Come with me, then. I'll take you to him."

Nico took in the sights of the complex as they followed him upstairs. It really was beautiful with its spacious lobby and its subdued colors and bright lighting. The Greek-style columns scattered around the building added to its charm, and Nico found himself wondering if he would've lived in a place as nice as this had he been allowed to age normally.

Eventually, Memnon stopped and pushed open a door, stepping aside so that the demigods could enter the room. It looked more like a small apartment than anything else, with its living area and kitchenette. Memnon directed them to the bedroom in the back, where an old man laid on one of the beds.

"My father, Tithonus."

Tithonus was not fun to look at. His face was so shriveled that his lumpy nose was the only feature that could be made out. He had lost all of his hair and almost all of his body fat; his paper-thin skin stretched out over his old bones as if there was nothing beneath it. In Nico's opinion, he looked more like a corpse than anything else, but the steady rise and fall of the man's chest proved otherwise.

"He cannot see, hear, or speak. He can only move with my assistance. He is a prisoner of his own body, because of the _curse_ my mother had placed on him."

"Your mother…?" Will started curiously.

"Eos."

The group exchanged a look. Mena's hunch had been totally on-point. Now might be able to actually _get somewhere_.

Memnon leaned down over his father, gingerly pulling a blanket over him. "In the midst of her numerous affairs, Eos fell in love with my father and asked Zeus to grant him immortality. However, she failed to ask for eternal youth as well, so while she remained the goddess that she was, my father continued to age, and age, and age. He suffers every day because of his curse, and with the recent media attention he's been receiving…"

Nico bit his lip. "He's lost his will to live, I can tell. His life force hangs on by a thread."

"But what about you, Memnon?" Cecil asked. "Uh, sir. You've lived almost as long as he has, haven't you?"

Memnon sighed and approached the nearby window. "After Achilles killed me during the Trojan War, Eos was so distraught that she asked Zeus to grant me immortality as well. She had learned from her prior mistake with my father, though - I retain the same physique as I did when I was slain."

Will cleared his throat and spoke up. "Uhm, Mr. Memnon, about your mother-"

"Eos."

"Ah, about Eos… we may have reason to believe that she's still alive, and hasn't faded like her siblings."

He gave the immortal Trojan a basic summary of their quest, with Nico adding in his own comments here and there. Memnon's eyes became more and more understanding the more that they explained.

"So," Will continued, "do you think those two lines of prophecy could have been given by Eos?"

A thoughtful look came over the warrior's face as he considered the question. "It is possible," he replied, "but I cannot say for sure. You'd be better off asking her yourself. She is still alive, I assure you, but there's no telling how much time she has left before she fades completely."

"If we can't get to her in time, is there anyone else we might be able to talk to?"

"Hmm. Perhaps my uncle Endymion would be of assistance, were he not given the gift of eternal sleep. But there may be a way you can get through to him. Last I heard, he was kept at an inn in Albuquerque."

"So we should make our way there, then," Nico confirmed, turning to the rest of the group. Cecil and Lou Ellen nodded in agreement, though Mena didn't respond. He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to discern the look in her eyes, but aside from her furrowed brow, she had a complete poker face.

Something in the back of Nico's mind swore that before this quest was over, he was going to pick that Hunter apart and find out what her motives were.

Frowning, he turned back to Memnon. "And do you know where we might be able to find Eos?"

"Ah, I do…" He moved to a small desk, rifling through a stack of papers and magazines that was sitting on it. After a moment, he pulled out a small brochure and handed it off. "She has been here for millennia, and I don't think she'll be leaving anytime soon."

Will took the brochure and looked it over. Nico huddled next to him to peer at it himself, and he felt his blood turn to ice as he read the name of the facility.

 _The Lotus Hotel and Casino_ _  
_ _Where Gods Go to Die_


	7. The Calm Countryside

**A/N:** First off, I just want to give a big THANK YOU I LOVE YOU to you guys for leaving me such lovely reviews! I'd reply to all of you individually but I honestly dislike the reply system on this site lmao;;

Secondly, sorry in advance to those of you who were hoping this would be the Lotus chapter. There's quite a lot of ground to cover between Atlanta and Las Vegas! I think you'll enjoy this anyway, though. ;D

And lastly, more panic attacks in this chapter. Keep yourselves safe, guys.

* * *

To say that Nico didn't take the news of their new pit stop very well would've been putting it lightly.

Despite it happening hours ago, his reaction was still completely fresh in his mind. How could it not be? There were a lot of things that he'd been dreading on this quest, but he had to admit, he didn't think that revisiting the Lotus would be one of them. It didn't matter to him that they'd be meeting a fading goddess there - if they even got there in time - just the mere _idea_ of setting foot in that terrible building again had sent him into yet another panic attack, this one much more severe than the others.

He really needed to stop having those. Maybe if this quest would stop throwing so many damn loops at him, he might actually be able to go _a full fucking day_ without snapping.

Needless to say, he was once again huddled in the front seat of the limo, the partition separating him from the others. He hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since leaving the Sunrise.

 _"Nico, wait! Come back!"_

Seconds after looking at the brochure that Memnon had given them, he'd bolted from the room as fast as his legs would carry him. There hadn't been any shadows for him to sink into, so the next best thing was simply to _run_.

He'd gotten all the way down the hall before he'd felt someone grab him around the waist. _"No! Let me go, Solace, let me go! I can't- I can't go back- I won't go back-"_ He'd thrashed and struggled against his captor, to no avail - Will's hold on him had been unbreakable. The blond had pulled Nico's back up against his chest, securing one arm around his waist and the other around his shoulders. Nico had gripped the arm around his shoulders and pulled as hard as he could, digging his nails into the tanned skin, but it hadn't been enough.

Nico remembered the battle against the Romans, how Will had been fast enough to outrun six soldiers with ease, how he'd been strong enough to keep Nico in place after he'd summoned a few skeletons as a diversion. It really was no wonder that the son of Apollo had been able to catch up to him.

Will hadn't said anything to him after actually catching him. Despite Nico's screeching - he'd been so distraught that he'd slipped completely into Italian - the only response he'd received was a tighter embrace and a face pressed into his hair.

All at once, Nico's strength had left him. He'd stopped his struggling and went limp against Will, knees buckling beneath him, and together they'd sank down to the floor where Nico had started clawing at his own face.

 _"I can't do this, Will, I can't go back there! I lost seventy years of my life to that place, I can't, I can't…"_

He'd simply sat there all but sobbing into his hands as Will held him, slowly rocking back and forth in a futile attempt to get him to calm down.

Even now, Nico felt deep shame about the situation. The last time he could remember feeling so _vulnerable_ in someone else's presence was in Croatia, when Cupid had forced him to out himself in front of Jason. But at least that time, he hadn't gone into a full-on mental breakdown afterward.

Nico was messed up. He readily admitted that. And he definitely didn't want the others - _especially_ Will - to know just _how_ much.

As if he hadn't been humiliated enough yet, his heart had dropped even further into his stomach when Mena had stalked over and crouched down in front of them. She'd gripped his wrists and roughly pulled his hands away from his face, then placed her own hands on either side of his head and forced him to look at her.

 _"Listen up, di Angelo: we don't have time for this right now. You are going to have to suck it up and just accept that this quest is not going to go easy on you. It's not easy on any of us. But you've had multiple breakdowns since we left Long Island, so now I have to ask you: why did you even come? You knew it was going to be difficult, so why?"_

Nico hadn't really had an answer to that. After all that he'd been through recently - going through Tartarus, being trapped in the bronze jar, being forcibly outed, nearly fading away into the shadows - his mental state had already been fragile enough. Unfortunately, it had been much harder to hold in his own emotions as a result. What was he supposed to say? _Hey, I'm still really traumatized from a bunch of stupid shit, so if I happen to freak out then go easy on me?_

He wasn't about to tell her the actual reason he'd come on the quest, though; not when said reason was sitting right behind him, holding onto him for dear life. _"Fuck off,"_ Nico had croaked out, tightly gripping Mena's wrists and attempting to pull them away. _"It's none of your damn business!"_

He had felt the shadows reacting to him. The temperature in the hallway had dropped drastically, and small tendrils of darkness had started snaking their way up his feet.

Will had only gripped him tighter, protectively holding Nico against him as he'd peered over Nico's shoulder at the Hunter. _"Mena, please,"_ he'd started, his voice stern, _"Nico's been through a hell of a lot, much more than most demigods, so don't assume that this happens for no reason. We should be trying to calm him down instead of riling him up even more."_

Nico had to admit, he'd been so grateful for Will in that moment. He'd noticed that several times through their journey thus far, Will had been able to sway Mena a bit in the midst of some of her more harsh decisions. Nico didn't really know what that meant, but at the time, he'd been thankful for it.

This time had been no exception. Mena had clicked her tongue in distaste, moving her hands to cup Nico's face instead, her touch softening. _"Look at me, di Angelo."_

He had met her eyes with a fierce glare, naturally, but almost as soon as their gazes met, something inside him had attacked his anger and fear, slowly driving it back into the deeper recesses of his mind. He'd had no idea what was happening - Mena had said nothing, only forcing him to focus on her pale blue eyes.

He had been reminded of Artemis back in D.C., when she had done something similar: after the panic attack he'd had _then_ , the goddess had gently touched his face, and her calming aura had helped soothe the anxiety that had bubbled up within him.

It had been a strange feeling. Nico had kept his eyes locked with Mena's, and slowly, his breathing had started to even out; his heartbeat had stopped pulsing throughout his skull. If he had to be honest with himself, it had felt like he was staring at the moon - he even thought that he'd caught a glimpse of a faint glow from the corners of his eyes.

Eventually, he'd looked away, drawing in deep breaths. Mena's hands had left his face, and he'd felt Will's embrace loosen a bit. The strangest sense of calm had come over him, and he wasn't sure if it was because of Mena, or Will, or _both_. The Hunter's words and gaze had been cold, _so_ cold, whereas Will had been _incredibly_ warm. In retrospect, it sort of reminded Nico of a salve that the healer had had to use on him once: at first it had been ice-cold, so much that it had numbed out the pain, but afterward it became warm and soothing.

The fact that Nico was comparing this to a medicine, of all things, was enough proof that he had been hanging out with Solace _way_ too much.

But the more he thought about it, the more the analogy made sense. There was something about staring into Mena's eyes like that, that had taken the focus off of his fear and redirected it to whatever the hell she'd been doing. He'd felt chilled to the bone, and then Will's warm weight behind him had helped him thaw.

Will's face had been pressed into the back of Nico's neck. When the pressure lifted, he had softly murmured into Nico's ear: _"Are you alright?"_

Nico had only nodded in response. He'd allowed the other two to pull him up off of the floor, Will keeping an arm around his shoulders as they made their way out of the retirement home. Nico had barely even noticed Cecil and Lou Ellen rejoining them, worriedly asking about what had just happened.

Looking back on it now, Nico was a little touched that they'd all been so concerned. If this had happened even a month ago, he would've disregarded it with a harsh "I'm fine" or something.

He'd definitely been hanging around Solace too much.

As he gazed out the window of the limousine, watching the street lamps pass them by, he thought about letting himself drift off to sleep. The moment he closed his eyes, though, he heard the partition separating the front seats from the rest of the car being pulled down.

The voice he heard was the last one he wanted to deal with with right now.

"Hey," Mena calmly greeted.

Nico turned his head to glare at her. "What do you want?" He asked hoarsely.

She pinched the bridge of her nose as if she were trying not to scowl back at him. "I wanted to apologize for what happened back there. I was a bit harsh on you."

"No shit. You're lucky I was a little busy having a _panic attack_ , or else I would've skewered you."

He was met with a frown in response. Mena adjusted herself a bit so that she could cross her arms on the back of the seat. "It was wrong of me to assume that you were just being melodramatic. I know nothing about what you've been through aside from your sister-"

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me that she's fucking dead because of your group, that's something I _really_ needed right now."

" _Let me finish_ , di Angelo. It's hard enough admitting that I was wrong without you snarking at me every step of the way. But I know you just fought a huge war and and are still suffering from the repercussions, and I can't fault you for that. It was hard on us, too - we lost many of our own while fighting Orion." She sighed and brushed her bangs aside, idly tugging on one of the longer tendrils.

Nico rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "The war was just a tip of the iceberg. Don't even _begin_ to assume that that's the cause of all my problems."

"I'm _not_. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Neither of us know what the other has been through, so we can't judge one another solely based on that." She rested her chin atop her crossed arms, narrowing her eyes at him. "And look, it's not my place to question your motives for coming on this quest. You have your own reasons, I'm sure, just as the others do. So, I'm sorry."

He met her eyes again. That ever-present look of severity in her gaze was still there, of course, but this time he could sense something else along with it. Remorse? Sympathy? He didn't really know, but he guessed it didn't really matter. Nico heaved a deep sigh and tiredly rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Apology accepted, I guess."

Mena's expression softened as she reached a hand out toward him. "Listen, I know you probably don't feel like talking to anyone, but why don't you come on back here? The others are worried."

Nico raised an eyebrow and stared at the hand for a moment. Biting his lip, he quietly nodded and took the offered hand, allowing Mena to pull him over the seat and into the back of the car where Will, Lou Ellen, and Cecil were waiting.

* * *

"Where even are we right now?"

Cecil frowned and set down the map he was looking over. "Welp, we crossed into Texas about an hour ago, and we're headed west on I-20. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Lou Ellen replied, boredly examining the cards in her hands. "It's just that it's been hours since we passed anything resembling civilization and I'm tired and hungry and everyone smells." She looked up at Will, who was sitting across from her. "Got any eights?"

"Go fish."

"Son of a…"

"Longview was kinda civilization," Will commented, "it's mostly just trees now, though. East Texas is kind of just _like this_."

"Right, dude, you're from here, aren't you?" Cecil asked, peering over at him.

Will grinned in response. "Born and raised," he said, putting on a deep Southern accent.

Nico snorted from where he was laying down. "You sound like those guys we ran into in Alabama."

"I thought we all agreed never to mention that again." Will fixed him with a horrified glare.

Nico let out a short cackle and sat up, smirking over at the blond. "You have to admit it was pretty funny, Solace."

"Maybe it'll be funny in like a year, but right now it _still sucks_ , Death Boy. I've never been so humiliated in my entire _life_."

Save for _The Incident_ they were referring to - something that Nico would later recount as involving some sweaty hillbillies, a few bales of hay, and _way too many cows_ \- the ride from Atlanta had been… pretty boring, actually. No monster encounters, nothing really to _see_ while going through the Deep South, not even that much to do in the car. Jules-Albert had been driving for over nine straight hours, and everyone was starting to feel just a little bit of cabin fever. Not to mention, Lou Ellen had had a point - it had been a few days since they'd been able to properly shower, so the inside of the limo was _pretty rank_.

"We should find a place to rest soon," Mena cut in, from the very back seat. After her conversation with Nico, she'd been unusually quiet for most of the ride. (Not that she wasn't quiet to begin with, but now she was even more so.) Nico chalked it up to guilt eating at her for how she'd treated him - a feeling that he was very familiar with. "It feels cramped in here."

Cecil nodded in agreement and examined his map again. "We shouldn't stop in open country again, I don't think. That's kinda how the Keres found us."

"That and the GPS was on," Nico replied bitterly. "It would've been nice if Dad had told me how to disable it sooner."

"Right, so… I saw some signs for an RV park a while back, over in Myrtle Springs. It's maybe half an hour from here. Seems like a safe enough place to crash for the night, what do you guys think?"

He received a small chorus of noncommittal answers from Nico, Mena, and Lou Ellen, but Will didn't answer - he had a thoughtful expression on his face, like he was deeply considering something.

"Actually," he started, carefully moving over to where Cecil was sitting, "I know where we can go. We take that same exit like we're going to Myrtle Springs, but keep going on TX-64 for like fifteen minutes and we'll hit Wills Point. That's where I'm from. My mom runs a bed-and-breakfast out there, so we could crash there for the night."

Nico raised an eyebrow at him, then wrinkled his nose as realization hit him. "Wait a minute. Wills Point?"

Will looked over at him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Yeah…"

"... Okay, let me get this straight." Nico could feel the smile forming on his face, and this time he did little to resist it. "Your name is Will. You're from a town called Wills Point."

Cecil snorted as Nico brought this to light. Lou Ellen started quietly snickering to herself. Mena simply shook her head, though Nico could see a smirk forming on her face.

Will, in the meantime, was completely red. He scowled and crossed his arms. "Yeah, what of it? Just 'cause I was named for the town-"

"Oh my _gods_." There was no holding back Nico's laughter. Cecil and Lou Ellen were quick to join in, while Mena reached over to pat Will on top of the head. "You were _named for the town_?"

Will let out a loud groan, burying his face in his hands. "My mom grew up there, okay?! She loves it there!"

" _Wow_. Your family is full of dorks. Now I see where _you_ get it from."

"Shut up, di Angelo!"

That only made Nico laugh harder. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd laughed that hard, if he even had at all. But after a couple minutes of laughing at Will's expense, he managed to compose himself, an amused smirk remaining on his face. "Right, okay, 'm sorry. Get over here and tell me how to get there, and I'll relay it to Jules-Albert."

Will huffed indignantly and made his way across the limo's open area to where Nico was sitting. "I just want you to know, from the deepest depths of my heart: I hate you."

Nico simply grinned and shook his head as Will began to give him directions. Before long, Jules-Albert had a thorough understanding of where to go, and Will flashed a thumbs-up toward the others.

Nico was ready to settle back into his seat when Will suddenly leaned closer to him. "By the way, you have a really cute laugh. You should do that more often." Nico felt himself go red as Will winked at him and headed toward the back of the car.

That boy really _was_ going to be the death of him.

* * *

As it turned out, the bed-and-breakfast ran by Will's mother didn't look like much more than a large two-story house. A few cars were parked in the small lot in front of it, and several lights were on, both inside and out. Nico honestly wasn't sure what to expect as the group of five approached, after having sent Jules-Albert off for the night.

A small chime went off as Will pushed the double-doors open, and not even five second had passed before the blond was swept off his feet.

"Ohhhhh my dear Lord, _William Solace_. I'd know those blue eyes of yours anywhere!"

Nico could only stare at the woman - Will might've been pretty tall, but this woman even had a few inches on him. She was heavyset with shoulder-length red hair and a multitude of tattoos running up her arms. If this was Will's mother, then he absolutely got one hundred percent of his looks from Apollo.

Will seemed a bit dazed as he was set down. "Hey, Shandy. It's been a while."

"Yeah, no shit? Five years and you don't even write to me? I thought your mama raised you better than that." It took Shandy a moment to notice the entourage that Will had brought with them. "You brought company."

Will nodded and turned to shoot a look back at the group. "Yeah, these are my friends from camp. But listen, is Mom around? It's kinda short notice, but we need somewhere to crash."

"Oh yeah, she's back in the kitchens. I'll go get her." Shandy reached up to ruffle his blond mop of hair before heading back behind the front desk and poking her head into the doorway behind it. "Hey, _Naomi!_ You got some visitors, and you better bring the tissues 'cause one of 'em's your boy!"

As they waited in the foyer, Nico took a moment to look around. The ceilings were high, with the wooden support beams easily visible - it gave the whole room a very open look, but the decor made the place seem very lived-in: depictions of the Old West, something Nico had only seen in movies, were shown in colorful tapestries on the walls. There were a few plants scattered around, primarily ivies that trailed along the walls and door frames; he even spied a couple of skulls here and there, most likely from deers or cows.

Even the front desk was nice, looking more like a display case than anything else. Inside was a small selection of beaded jewelry, bracelets, rings, pendants, some in wood and some in stone.

He was definitely curious about what the rest of the place looked like.

His thoughts were broken by a sniffle, and another woman appeared in the doorway - short, with glasses and curly white-blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. "My boy…"

Will flashed the woman a tender smile as she came out from behind the counter and rushed into his arms. "Hey, Mom."

Nico felt a slight twinge of melancholy as he watched them. When was the last time his mother had ever held him? He couldn't remember; the Lethe had stolen most memories of his mother from him. He hadn't known what what his mother's touch had felt like in over seventy years, his memories of Bianca being the closest thing he had.

With her gone as well, he wasn't counting on ever feeling it again.

"Oh, oh goodness, look at you," Naomi Solace released her son from her embrace and raised her hands to his face, "so tall and handsome. Iris-messages don't do you justice, hon."

Will chuckled and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm glad to see you too. I would've called you in advance, but my friends and I kinda only decided to stop by at the last minute."

"Baby, it's fine. I'm just happy you're here." She peeked out from behind him to acknowledge the rest of the group. "Hello, hello! Y'all are all Will's friends from camp?" Naomi greeted Cecil and Lou Ellen with warm hugs, having recognized them both from Will's Iris-messages, then took Mena's hands in both of hers and gave them a shake before turning to Nico.

As she placed her hands on his shoulders, he fought the urge to shrink away - mainly because her hands were so warm, just like Will's. "And you must be Nico. I've heard so much about you."

" _Really_ now?" He raised an eyebrow, peering at Will over her shoulder. The blond looked more than a little flustered, and Nico couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"Oh, yes, he talks about you every time we Iris-message. It's so nice to finally meet you."

" _Mom!_ "

"What, it's true! Honestly, the way he gushes, it's like watchin' a schoolgirl-"

" _Okay I'm leaving now bye!_ " Will cut her off and covered his ears with his hands, stomping toward the hallway.

"Oh, _stop_." Naomi retrieved a hand towel from the desk and flung one end of it at Will, smacking him on the butt. "Get back here and show your friends where they'll be stayin', won't you?" She turned back to face the group. "Is he like this at camp, too?"

Nico's smirk widened as Cecil and Lou Ellen began snickering behind him. "No, he's actually a lot worse."

" _Wow_ , Spooks!" Will fixed him with a pout as he walked back over to stand next to his mother. "We've barely been here for ten minutes and you're already taking my mom's side. Not cool, bro."

Naomi simply shook her head and reached up to ruffle her son's hair. "Well, in any case, it's very nice to meet y'all. Will's gonna show y'all where you'll be stayin' for the night-"

"We've only got two open at the moment, Naomi," Shandy cut in from behind the counter.

"-and I guess a couple of ya will have to double up. Anyway, take some time to settle in, freshen up, and then come on back down for dinner. Sound good?"

* * *

It might have been his fatigue talking, but for Nico, the rest of the evening went by in a blur. As it turned out, he and Cecil would be sharing one of the vacant rooms, and Mena and Lou Ellen in the other; Will had his own childhood bedroom. Nico wasn't thrilled with the setup, but he saw no need to complain - despite Will and his mother's best efforts to convince him otherwise, he still felt like he was putting them out a bit.

He'd taken quite a long shower, washing away all of the impurities he'd accumulated over the last few days - blood, sweat, dirt, anything any demigod would pick up when roughing it like they had. Sitting beneath the warm stream of water helped him relax, so by the time he was finished, he was painfully aware of how hungry he really was. Fortunately, there had been more than enough food to go around, and Nico's first encounter with traditional Southern fare had been well worth the oppressive fullness in his stomach.

Now, he stood outside on the large back patio, leaning against the railing as he gazed out into the seemingly endless pasture beyond. The sky was filled with stars, much more so out here in the country, but it was of little comfort to him. No matter what time it actually was - Will's mother had confirmed it around nine o'clock at night - Nyx's sky was a constant presence overhead. It would've been a beautiful sight under any other circumstances, but right now it was little more than a constant reminder of the dangers they had yet to face on this quest.

He did _not_ want to go back to the Lotus. Just the name alone carried too many painful memories: being placed in there by Alecto, staying there for what felt like a month to him and Bianca when in actuality it had been several decades… he was afraid to think of what might happen upon returning. Would he and his friends get sidetracked by the lights, the video games, the casino? Just being there for _one hour_ would be enough to set back their quest at least a few days. For all he knew, by the time they made it out of there, the world would have suffered irreversible damage…

With everything that Nico had been through, there were few things he actually feared nowadays. But now, he had to admit to himself that he was scared. Just the _thought_ of what could happen if Nyx's reign continued uninterrupted was enough to make him flip out, if his discussion with Artemis had been any indication.

He almost felt like Tartarus would be a better fate than _that_.

Before he could reflect on the subject too much, the sound of the back door opening brought him out of his thoughts. He knew who it was before he even saw them: "Hey, Solace."

"Hey yourself," Will replied as he leaned on the railing next to Nico, folding his arms atop the wooden beams. "What'cha doing out here?"

Nico fiddled with the string of his freshly-washed skeleton hoodie. "Nothing. Thinking, mostly."

"About?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

Will didn't look convinced. "You sure? For once you're not snapping at me or being sarcastic, so there's _got_ to be something wrong."

Nico rolled his eyes in response, turning to shoot a glare at him. "Gee, Solace, I don't know! Maybe it's the fact that eventually we'll be returning to the place that ripped me from one era and threw me into another one, thereby dooming me to try and live in the 2010s while still having a 1940s mindset. Crazy, isn't it?"

"Aaaand _there's_ the sarcasm. You're really worried about it, aren't you?"

"What, the panic attack wasn't enough proof of that?"

"No, no, it was," Will put his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried. I wouldn't want to go back to a place that screwed me over that badly, either."

Nico simply clicked his tongue and turned his gaze back out to the field.

The two of them stood there in a vaguely uncomfortable silence before Nico spoke up again. "Has it really been five years since you were here last?"

Will nodded, an expression of melancholy crossing his face. "When I was ten, Mom sent me to Camp Half-Blood in order to protect me. My healing powers had started showing, and she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep me safe from the monsters."

Nico quietly watched him as he spoke. "You're a year-round camper, though. How come you haven't been back here since?"

"Because they need me at camp," Will answered, bending down to rest his chin atop his crossed arms. "I don't know if you've noticed, Nico, but healing's really the only thing I'm good for. I'm bad at archery, bad at music, bad at poetry, I don't have prophetic dreams. So staying at camp at least reminds me that I'm good for _something_ , you know? What good are my powers if I'm not in a place where they're actually useful?"

"...You're not giving yourself enough credit, Solace." Nico turned to face him, propping one elbow up on the railing. Somehow, seeing this vulnerable side of Will was really jarring to him; he was so used to seeing the side of Will that cracked corny jokes at him, forced him to eat, fussed over him when he used his own powers. "Your powers are worth more than you think. Do you have any idea how many people you've saved?"

Will glanced up at him, rolling his shoulders in a shrug.

Nico pursed his lips. "During the Battle for Manhattan, when you saved Annabeth… you indirectly saved all of us too, Will. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have survived, and Kronos would've taken over. And then the war against Gaia's forces…"

He paused, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't stopped me from overusing my powers. What would've happened if I'd faded into the shadows? Octavian probably would've won and had all of the Greeks executed or something."

Will heaved a sigh and nodded, peering at him from the corner of his eye. "I guess."

"You _guess_? Solace, come _on_. For all that you do to try and convince me that I'm cool, you sure don't seem receptive to it when others do the same to you."

"I've literally always been insecure about it, Nico," Will replied, straightening himself up. "You remember what happened during the Titan War. They never found Michael's body, and suddenly all the responsibilities of head counselor were thrust onto me. I didn't know what to think, okay? I didn't believe I was good enough for it then, and it sure isn't any different now."

"Maybe you didn't get the memo, but we _all_ have insecurities, Solace. I mean, shit, look at me - I'm a son of Hades, who didn't even have a cabin at camp until after the war with Kronos. I'm from the 1940s, and there's _still_ a ton of stuff I don't know about the present day. I pined over _Percy fucking Jackson_ for four years without _any_ hopes of ever being 'good enough' for-"

Realizing what he'd just said, he clapped a hand over his mouth, gazing at Will in horror. He had _definitely_ not meant to say that, and now he was screwed. Will knew his deepest, darkest secret, and was probably going to look at him much differently from now on. Nico didn't know if he could handle that, not from _him_.

But all Will did was stare at him in surprise. "You… liked Percy?"

Nico dropped his hands and lowered his head in shame. "...Yeah. I'm gay. Go ahead and judge me. I've done enough of that to myself, so why not hear it from someone else…"

"Why would I judge you?"

"Why _wouldn't_ you?"

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder, and he slowly looked up to face Will. "It's okay if you're into guys. Really. Maybe it's harder for you to come to terms with it 'cause you're from the '40s, but here in this day and age, it's widely accepted." He offered Nico a sympathetic smile. "Besides, I'd be a huge hypocrite if I were to judge you for that."

"What are you saying?"

"I like guys too," Will confessed, "I like everyone, actually. I'm pansexual."

Nico raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of the term he'd just used. "What does that mean?"

"It means that gender doesn't matter to me at all. I like girls, I like guys, I like everything in-between, I just like _people_. What matters to me is the person themself, not whatever they choose to identify as."

"I… wow. Okay." The skeletal butterflies had awakened again, and Nico wasn't really sure what to think. On one hand, Will's confession meant that Nico might actually have a chance with him. On the other, it meant that Nico _might actually have a chance with him_ and that thought was honestly kind of terrifying. "When did you realize…?"

Will shrugged, removing his hand from Nico's shoulder. "I've kind of always known, I guess. 'Course, there wasn't a lot I could do about it until I went to camp. There's a reason they call this region the 'Bible Belt'."

Nico could understand that. Being raised in a predominantly Catholic country in a time where being anything other than straight was a punishable offense, he _really_ understood. "Does your mom know, or…?"

"She does. She knew before I even knew." Will nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. "She was always really supportive of me, but she kind of advised me to stay in the closet most of the time. Not everyone here is accepting of that kind of thing, even today - Texas is a pretty religious state and... she didn't want me to get hurt."

"Mm… the only ones who know about- about _me_ are Jason, Percy, Annabeth… and now you. Coming out to Jason wasn't even my choice. We were in Croatia trying to retrieve Diocletian's scepter and Cupid cornered us… he refused to give it up until I acknowledged my 'true feelings'. Which meant admitting that I had a crush on Percy."

Will's expression softened. "...I'm sorry, that must've been awful. Nobody should _ever_ be forced to come out until they're absolutely ready." He paused and bit his lip, looking a bit hesitant. "But about Percy... you _had_ a crush on him? Does that mean you don't anymore?"

Nico nodded, lifting his head in order to meet Will's eyes. "Yeah. I realized a while ago that it had originally stemmed from some twisted kind of hero worship, and... the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he wasn't the perfect hero, that I'd been putting him on a pedestal the entire time. Now I know that I'd rather have someone that I genuinely _feel_ something for, you know? Someone that I like for who they really are." He gave a small shrug, letting out a short, humorless laugh. "Besides, he's not my type."

Will quirked an eyebrow, the corner of his lips turning up in a smirk. "What _is_ your type, then?"

"Maybe I'll tell you if we make it back to Camp Half-Blood in one piece," Nico replied, feeling his own smirk form as he turned to face the field again.

"I'll hold you to that, Death Boy."

The two of them continued to exchange idle chatter for who knew how long. Will talked about what it was like growing up in Texas, about vacationing in Galveston every summer before he started camp, about joining his country-singer mother on tour as she played small concerts all over the state. Nico himself didn't really say much, content to just listen to Will talk about his experiences from before and after coming to camp. They theorized about what the short prophecy Rachel had given them meant, how they would possibly deal with Nyx if it came down to fighting her, how to safely protect themselves while at the Lotus, the new powers that Will had started displaying.

"I've been meaning to ask about that," Nico cut in. "When you did the glowy thing… you can control light now, or what?"

"I guess," Will replied, examining his hand. "I'm still not entirely sure how it works. I can get that it was kind of a last-resort thing when we were fighting Apate and Dolos, but other than that… I guess I kind of just imagined myself generating the light somehow? I dunno, it's weird. Maybe it has to do with these symbols, like... it would've helped if Artemis had actually told us more about them."

"What I don't understand is how it's supposed to affect _my_ powers." Nico scowled, tracing the back of his hand where his symbol was hidden. An odd black glow easily showed through his pale skin, almost as if the shadows themselves laid beneath it. "I mean, I've shadow traveled and raised skeletons and I didn't notice anything different. I still passed out afterward."

Will eyed Nico for a moment, a wary look in his blue eyes. "Artemis said it was supposed to be a symbol of protection, right? Maybe that means something like… it'll help protect you from your own shadows. Gods know you need _that_."

Nico shot a glare at him. "Tell me something I _don't_ know."

"I was really a horse in my past life."

Nico let his head fall down to the railing, hitting it with an audible _thunk_. "You are unbelievable," he moaned, straightening himself up.

Will met his eyes with a teasing smirk. "You love it."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Solace."

They stood there in a companionable silence for a bit longer, only looking up when some of the house lights began to go out. "We should probably head to bed soon," Will suggested, "it's getting pretty late."

Nico nodded in agreement, pushing himself off of the railing. "Yeah… it'll be nice to sleep in a bed again, even if I have to share with Cecil."

"You can share my room if you want." Will winked at him playfully, and Nico felt his ears burning.

"I wouldn't get any sleep, with as much as you thrash around. With my luck I'd end up a human teddy bear again."

Will chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. In all seriousness, though…" He took a couple of steps toward Nico, leaving little room between them. "Thanks for listening. It honestly meant a lot to me."

Nico gulped and peered up at him, his body heating up from the close proximity. "Well… you always offer to listen to me, so I- I guess returning the favor is the least I can do."

The smile that Will gave him could've melted an iceberg, and the look in his eyes… Nico had never seen them so blue, so _soft_. "Um… Nico, can I…?"

Nico's heart skipped a beat as he blinked up at him. The skeletal butterflies were _rioting_. "Can you what…?"

Will didn't respond, simply opting to hold his arms out.

 _Oh_. That was what he was wanting to do. Nico bit his lip and silently nodded, stepping forward and allowing the blond to wrap his arms around him. Naturally, Nico stiffened a bit at first, but as Will buried his face in his dark hair, his body relaxed, and he raised his own arms to rest them against Will's back.

They stayed like that for a while, simply holding each other closely in the comfortable silence. Will's breaths were calm and slow; the rise and fall of his chest was strangely comforting to Nico. He pressed his ear against Will's chest and closed his eyes, listening for the heartbeat beneath.

 _Thump. Thump._

There was a part of him that didn't want this moment to end.

Eventually, though, Will briefly tightened his embrace before pulling away. He stepped back, tracing his fingertips down Nico's arm. "Good night," he said softly, giving Nico's hand a soft squeeze, "thank you again."

Nico could only nod in response, the tightness in his chest rendering him unable to speak. He gave Will a small wave as the son of Apollo retreated back into the house.

Once the boy was gone, Nico took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands.

What was he getting himself into?


	8. The Ascending Abyss

Nico had fallen asleep thinking about warm arms and too-blue eyes.

He supposed it was only natural that he would wake up to that pitch-black sky and that hill where he'd discovered his fallen questmates, blood seeping into the soil beneath them. That's how it always happened: he'd find a spot of peace - in this case, his conversation with Will - and then his subconscious would go and ruin it afterward. Even his own mind wouldn't give him a break.

He'd affectionately dubbed the hill Nightmare Knoll after aforementioned dream, and needless to say, he was not happy to be back here.

The most disconcerting part of the dream was how _vivid_ everything was. The overwhelming silence rang in his ears, the air was stagnant and smelled of blood, his body felt numb as he slowly ascended the hill. Remnants of his prior dream remained in the form of the blood-soaked ground. His questmates' corpses were no longer present, but it wasn't enough to reassure him of anything; of course, Nico knew by now that everything had just been a terrible dream, but the fear was still present. Maybe this was a sign, an omen, a prediction of things to come.

Nico reached the top of the hill, a sharp pang thundering in his chest when he reached the spot where Will had been dying. He knew at heart that Will was still very much alive, but seeing this spot again…

 _Listen here, Solace, don't you_ do _this to me,_ his own voice resounded in his head. _I can't lose someone else that I..._

He wrapped his arms around himself, clutching at his sleeves. If he closed his eyes and concentrated hard enough, he could still feel the warmth of Will's embrace and the sound of Will's heartbeat in his ears.

A freezing wind suddenly blew past him, making his hair stand on end. Instantly, he whirled around, sword already in hand; someone else was here, a wicked presence that caused a familiar bubble of dread to well up in the pit of his stomach.

A sense of impending doom.

"Who's there?" Nico shouted into the pitch-black sky. "Come out before I send your soul straight to Tartarus!"

" _That wouldn't be in your best interests, son of Hades,_ " a deep, dark voice resonated from the void. " _After all, there's no fighting destiny._ "

A shiver ran down Nico's spine, and he suddenly found himself very, _very_ afraid.

A churning vortex of darkness began to drop down from the sky, touching the ground at the base of the hill like a tornado made out of pure shadow. Instinctively, Nico clutched his sword tighter as he slowly made his way down the hill, ready to strike if need be; as he neared the funnel, the shadows seemed to coalesce, forming a figure in the inky blackness.

Nico surged forward and ran the mass through with his Stygian iron blade.

The blade harmlessly passed through the shadows, and as Nico turned on his heel to strike again, his sword was met with a second one, equally dark and blooming with shadow.

The vortex of darkness dissipated, revealing the tall, dark figure of a man: with messy black hair, skin the color of dark chocolate, and a manic look in the empty, pitch-dark pits of his eyes, he towered over Nico with a menacing grin.

" _Well, if it isn't Nico di Angelo himself. I've heard much about you, child,_ " the man growled, twirling his sword and breaking free from Nico's.

Nico took a few steps back, drawing himself into a defensive stance. "Tell me who you are and what you want with me!"

The tall man chuckled darkly, casually twirling his sword in his hands as he slowly stepped closer. " _I'll give you a hint: I'm a son of Nyx._ "

"Of course you are," Nico replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm sensing a bit of a pattern here."

" _Oh, so you've caught on, then? Fantastic. With my mother covering the world in her darkness, it is only fitting that her children have come out to play. Dolos and Apate send their regards, by the way._ "

A growl escaped from between Nico's teeth at the mention of the two daimons. "You can tell them to fuck right off. That goes double for you."

The son of Nyx placed a hand against his own chest in mock offense. " _Why, you absolutely wound me, son of Hades. Believe it or not, I may actually be here to help you._ "

"I find that hard to believe."

The man's smirk widened only seconds before he vanished into thin air. Nico shrieked and jumped aside, nearly falling to the ground as he felt a cold breath murmur into his ear. " _Why don't you play along with me for a while? It might be fun._ "

Once he regained his bearings, Nico shot forward and tore his blade through the man's midsection. He cursed under his breath as, just as it did before, it passed through with no effect.

" _Imagine, if you will, that you have a certain fate in store for yourself,"_ the daimon continued, passing his own sword between both hands. " _A certain…_ destiny _, you might say. Everybody has one, you know - mortals, demigods, even the gods themselves. I bet I know how you imagine your own fate._ "

"Don't you even _dare_ assume that you know what my fate is," Nico snarled, anger seeping from his voice.

" _Oh, but I do, you see! Fate, destiny, impending doom - all of that is my domain! Come on, now, take a guess at my identity!_ "

Realization dawned on Nico at the being's words, and the terror he felt running through his veins increased exponentially. "You… I know you. I feel you every damn day of my life," he spat, slowly backing up. "Even Zeus himself is terrified of you… _Moros_. Daimon of doom."

The daimon grinned widely, revealing a row of jagged, sharp teeth. " _You're smarter than you look, child. Do you know_ why _Zeus fears me so?_ "

Quick as lightning, Moros surged forward and grabbed Nico by the throat, pushing him into a nearby tree. " _It's because I have seen the destiny of the gods, as well. And Zeus does not like what's in store. The best part is there's not one thing that good-for-nothing Olympian king can do about it! There is no escaping fate, Nico di Angelo._ "

Nico's sword dropped to the ground as he reached up to grasp the arm pinning him to the tree, gasping for breath. "You… you're _wrong_ ," he managed to choke out.

The look Moros gave him was one of innocent curiosity. " _Oh? Are you sure about that? Because, last time I heard,_ " the maniacal sneer returned, " _to break with destiny is to re-introduce Chaos into the world."_

Nico felt his entire body go rigid. There it was, the one word that he was trying his hardest _not_ to think about.

Chaos.

The primeval Void that laid beneath the deepest, darkest pits of Tartarus, from which the earliest primordial deities emerged.

The final death.

" _You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?_ " Moros continued, gripping Nico's throat so tightly that black spots began to dance in his vision. " _To see your world, your friends, and even_ the gods _being torn apart by the Void? To see their very souls dissolve into nothingness?_ "

"S-Stop," Nico gasped, wildly thrashing his legs in a feeble attempt to score a hit on the daimon. But try as he might, every blow went right through the son of Nyx, and it was getting harder and harder for Nico to breathe.

If he died in his dreams, would he die in real life?

Fortunately, Moros released Nico from his grasp, and he slowly slid down the trunk of the tree, landing solidly on the ground below.

Moros continued to sneer down at him from above. " _You're already aware of what's happening, aren't you? Chaos is your destiny. It is the destiny of this entire realm, and there's nothing you can do to stop it._ "

It took Nico a few moments to catch his breath. He fumbled for his sword and pushed himself up, clutching his throat with his free hand. "You're _so_ wrong. There _is_ something I can do. Something _we_ can do, my friends and I."

He briefly started, the small voice in the back of his mind wondering: _Friends? When did that happen?_

Moros laughed then, a deep, dark chuckling that increased in volume until the sound was loud enough to pierce through Nico's ears. " _You really think so, do you? Then tell me. What could you_ possibly _do to fight against Chaos?_ "

In lieu of answering his question, Nico lashed out with his sword again. This time, the blade was caught by Moros' own, pitch-black metals screeching as they ground against each other. Nico wrenched his blade away and made to strike again, but Moros was fast - _very_ fast - and Nico found himself defending and blocking the quick moves of his opponent. Try as he might, it was impossible to get a good hit in on the daimon, nevermind the fact that his sword would only pass through anyway.

Nico was panting and sweating by the time he realized that their skirmish had taken them all the way back up the hill, swords clashing the entire time. As he struggled to keep Moros' blade from decapitating him, he chanced a glance over his shoulder to see that beyond the top of the hill was a steep cliff, a plunge into nothingness that shouldn't have felt as real and present as it did.

" _Answer my question, son of Hades,_ " Moros snarled, grinding their blades together. " _Tell me what's going to happen. Tell me what your father has implied, what Artemis made you remember. Tell me what you've known since the beginning, what you've been refusing to admit to yourself._ "

Nico swallowed the lump in his throat, arms shaking from the sheer pressure Moros was putting on him. "Nyx is taking over. She's abandoned her post in Tartarus to come up here and- and wrap the world in her darkness."

" _Very good,_ " Moros replied, condescension dripping from his voice. " _Now tell me what will happen if her reign continues uninterrupted..."_

The fear that had settled into Nico's stomach gave him a burst of adrenaline, and he managed to push Moros back a couple of feet, dislodging their swords from each other. He took a long, deep breath, as if he were trying to catch the words that he needed.

"Nyx resides in the deepest part of Tartarus," he continued, "in the Mansion of Night. And below that place… where Night meets the void below Tartarus…" Nico breathed in again in an attempt to quell the shivers coursing through his body. "Is Chaos itself. And Nyx- her presence is like a-"

" _A barrier,_ " Moros finished for him. " _One that prevents Chaos from emerging. So, without her there… what do you think will happen, Nico di Angelo?_ "

This was a nightmare. Nico was well aware of that. But the horror that flowed through his veins felt all too real. "Chaos will-" He dug the tip of his iron sword into the ground and leaned on it like a crutch as his gazed locked with the sheer darkness of Moros' eyes. " _Chaos will_ -"

Moros reached out and grabbed Nico's chin, sharp claws digging into his skin. " _Chaos will_ rise _, child. Chaos will slowly seep upward from its pit and devour everything it touches."_

He leaned in so that their faces were just inches away. " _All of existence will be lost to the Void. First Tartarus and the beings that reside there. All of it will become the Void. And next is the entire Underworld itself, something I'm sure you are_ very _familiar with. There will be no place for departed souls to go, so they will simply be dissolved by the Void."_

Moros bared his razor-sharp teeth again, smiling impossibly wide. " _And then the very Earth that it gave birth to, and finally, Olympus itself."_

Giving Nico's chin a rough squeeze, the daimon backed away, watching as the demigod fell to his knees, still keeping a death grip on his sword. " _That is your destiny, Nico di Angelo. Nyx will reign supreme until Chaos takes over completely. And should you go out of the way to defy that destiny… well, the result will be the same either way._

 _"And that is why it'll be better for everyone if you just gave in to your inevitable doom. Give up and enjoy your remaining time with your loved ones while you can."_

Nico couldn't breathe. The fear had traveled all the way up his body, gripping his throat with the same force as the son of Nyx had earlier. Was Moros right? He didn't even want to consider it, but… He squeezed his eyes shut, easily picturing what would happen if they gave up on their quest.

He pictured Chaos seeping up into the Underworld, and how he would feel everything dissolving into nothingness. The ghosts in Asphodel, the Fields of Punishment, his father and Persephone and their entire palace, even Elysium and the Isles of the Blest.

He pictured the dense, black shadows of Chaos emerging from the Underworld's entrances, instantly vaporizing everything it touched. They would leak out from Orpheus' door in Central Park, destroy the entirety of New York City in a matter of seconds, and then come straight for Camp Half-Blood.

He pictured the expressions of sheer terror on his friends' faces as they disintegrated completely.

The mental image broke his heart into thousands of pieces. And from everything that Moros had told him about his destiny, the destiny of their entire _world_ , he wondered how it would even be possible to escape such a fate.

Nico wondered what his last words to his friends would be, and theirs to him. Jason would probably say something about how proud he was of Nico for coming as far as he had. Hazel might thank him for giving her a second life and showing her that she made it better than her first one. He wondered if Percy would apologize for hurting him the way he did, if things would be awkward between them because of his confession after the battle with Gaea.

The voices of Cecil and Lou Ellen saying _we tried our best_.

Exchanging a knowing look with Mena, silently acknowledging the mutual respect they'd found.

Seeing Will smile one last time.

No.

He couldn't let it end like that.

"I'll…" Nico's voice was hoarse and ragged as it struggled past the pressure in his throat. "If that's the case, then I'll- I'll change our destiny."

" _Oh? Did you not hear a single word I've said, demigod?_ " Moros' voice was as deep and dark as ever, slight confusion edging his words. " _Breaking with destiny will still allow Chaos to rise; you realize this, right?_ "

"No," Nico continued, pushing himself to his feet with a newfound strength. "I won't be breaking my destiny. I'll be shaping it the way _I_ want to." He lifted his head to glare into Moros' eyes, tugging his sword out of the ground. "Our fate is _never_ decided from the beginning. It's what we do within our lives that guides us to our ultimate fate. The future is completely fluid."

He clenched his blade in his hands, shifting into an attacking position. "And we're going to find a way to stop this supposed _doom_ of yours! We will awaken Helios and drive Nyx back into Tartarus where she _should be!_ "

Moros regarded him with a look that clearly showed how much doubt he had of that, but after a moment his mouth twisted up into that toothy, condescending smirk again. " _Tough words coming from a measly demigod,_ " he said, " _I hope you're able to back them up!_ "

With that, Nico raced forward to strike him again, putting as much power as possible into the swing. Instead of the blade slicing through the daimon again, Moros simply evaporated into thin air.

Nico started, casting a frantic glare around the area. There was no way that was the end of it. Was it?

Still tightly grasping his sword, he turned and walked back over to the edge of the cliff. Silence had fallen over the entirety of Nightmare Knoll, and it wasn't reassuring in the slightest. Nico's hair stood on end, his heartbeat pounded in his head, cold shivers were running up and down his back.

 _Wake up_ , he told himself. _You met the stupid daimon and he told you about your stupid "fate", so_ wake up!

He did not wake up.

Not even when a torturous, agonizing pain erupted in his right shoulder, completely out of nowhere.

Gaping in horror, Nico looked down to find Moros' pitch-dark blade sticking out from beneath his collarbone. There was no blood - instead, shadows poured out of Nico's body like black smoke billowing from a fire. With it came an inky black fluid that could very well have _been_ blood in this terrible dreamscape of his, if not for it evaporating as soon as it touched the ground.

" _You'll see, son of Hades,_ " Moros' voice growled into his ear, " _everything will eventually return to Chaos. That, my friend, is the eventual destiny of the entire universe. Remember this: the deeper the pain, the closer the fate._ "

Nico felt a pressure on his back and let out a silent screech as the blade slid out between his flesh and bones, and the next thing he knew, he'd been thrust over the edge of the cliff, tumbling down toward the darkness below.

His voice completely failed him as he plummeted downwards, black blood leaking out in oily ribbons behind him. _This is it_ , he thought, _this is how I'm going to die. Thrust into a bottomless chasm in nothing more than a dream sequence. There's no waking up from this, is there? I'm just going to become another shadow, like I should've a month ago._

 _Become the shadows._

His eyes widened at the familiar phrase, a slight tingle pulsing through his hand. As the winds rushed past him, he weakly brought it closer - the symbol on the back of his hand was glowing, black lines clearly forming the symbol of protection that he'd initially scorned.

 _It is a symbol of protection,_ Artemis' voice flashed through his head.

 _Alright then,_ Nico told himself, _protect me!_

He growled and thrust his hand forward, up toward the disappearing cliff above. The black smoke, the black tar draining out of his body, even the darkness below: all of that came together in a cloud of darkness that he could barely see. He felt the powers of the shadows run through his veins like blood as the cloud came to surround him, erasing everything but blackness from his vision.

When his vision came back, he could clearly see that he was falling back down toward Nightmare Knoll. He could see Moros atop the hill, looking down into the darkness that Nico had just emerged from.

Nico readied his sword. The cloud of darkness that had surrounded him was now billowing off of the Stygian iron blade, and as he drew closer and closer to Moros, he channeled as much of the shadows as he could into one last strike.

When he harmlessly hit the ground behind Moros, his blade had cleaved the daimon clear in half.

A deluge of golden ichor puddled beneath the son of Nyx as he turned around to face Nico, fixing his pitch-dark stare on the boy one last time before he dissipated, the shining dust catching on the breeze.

Nico gasped for breath as he collapsed onto the grass below him, which was now stained with three types of blood: the deep red that had puddled beneath Dream Will as he'd lay dying barely a foot away, the thick gold that had pulsed out of Moros' bisected body, and the pure black that was now pooling underneath Nico himself.

He was so exhausted, much more than he had any right to be in a dream. As he felt his eyes fall shut, he couldn't help but wonder: if he fell asleep in a dream, would he have a dream within that dream?

He really, _really_ hoped not.


	9. The Phantom Pain

**A/N:** Bluh, I am so sorry for the wait on this one. I hit a rather nasty block on this chapter because it's largely a filler chapter, but a spark came to me last night and I managed to power through it. It's another shorter one, but I hope y'all enjoy anyway.

There's some important notes at the end, which I'd really like for you guys to read.

* * *

For once, Nico wasn't screaming upon waking up from a nightmare. The fact that he wasn't sure if he'd wake up at _all_ might've had something to do with that.

Of course, he was more than a little startled when he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room, and he very nearly jumped out of his skin when something smacked him in the face. He immediately reached for his sword next to the bed-

"Yea… eighty bacon cheeseburgers… and a Diet Coke…"

...oh. Okay, right, Nico remembered now: he was at Will's home in Texas and bunking with Cecil, who a) had smacked him in the face, and b) somehow managed to take up about ninety percent of the _king-size_ bed they were sharing.

Nico scowled and pushed Cecil's arm off of him before slowly sitting up. He turned and swung his legs over the side of the bed, tiredly rubbing at his eyes as he processed the nightmare.

Gods, _the nightmare_.

Nico had had his fair share of prophetic dreams, but this one had been far beyond any of the others that he'd had, mainly because it had outright confirmed something that he'd feared since the beginning of their quest - something that, as his father had put it, was infinitely more dangerous than he'd thought.

Chaos… the only time he'd ever come close to the Void was when he'd encountered Akhlys in Tartarus. He still remembered everything the miserable _protogenos_ had said to him.

 _Look at you, child. The agony that you hold in your heart… I have never felt such intense sorrow from a human before! You are beautiful, you are perfection! What more could I_ possibly _do to add to your suffering?_ In retrospect, it was ironic how positively _elated_ Akhlys had been at the time, as if she'd dug up an infinite goldmine of pain and anguish - which, to be fair, wasn't too far off from what Nico's mental state had been at that point.

But it was her words about their location that had him more shaken up now.

 _You know where we are, don't you? You are in the territory of my mother, Nyx. She lives here, in her Mansion of Night, with horrors far beyond anything else you will see here in Tartarus…_

 _I know you seek the Doors of Death, boy. They lie just beyond this chasm, in the heart of Tartarus. But you, you will never make it there, child. You know what lies at the bottom of this pit, do you not?_

 _This is the edge of all existence. Beneath the Mansion of Night lies none other than Chaos itself. The Void, the Creator, the final death._

 _And it will swallow you whole._

Nico reached up and clutched at his hair. He'd never imagined that Chaos itself would ever be a threat to them, but now, after encountering Moros in his dream, it seemed like a very real possibility.

There was no way he could break this to the others. As much as they deserved to know about the true danger they were facing, Nico knew that they were all stressed enough already. And as someone who had _been_ to Tartarus and seen it in all of its true horror, the thought of Chaos rising was paralyzing even to him. He didn't even want to know how everyone else would react, didn't want to see the terror in their eyes.

He sighed and rubbed at his face before pulling himself to his feet. His throat felt dry as a bone, and his mind was entirely too busy to attempt going back to sleep right now. He considered going down to the kitchens and find something to drink, but then…

The other thing he wanted was surprising, especially to himself: Nico di Angelo wanted to _talk_ to someone. Granted, he wanted it as more of a distraction than anything else, but still, the very idea had him wondering if he was legitimately going nuts or just too sleep-deprived to care.

Either way, a small ( _large_ ) part of him wondered if ( _hoped_ ) Will was awake.

He shook the thought from his head and started for the door. But just as he grasped the knob, something else occurred to him: that weird teleportation he'd done in the dream… it had been, for all intents and purposes, shadow travel, but something about it had felt immensely different. Maybe it had just been the dream setting, or maybe it had something to do with the sigil on the back of his hand…

Even with his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Nico could barely see his hand in front of him. But he felt something - a small, tugging feeling in his gut - that compelled him to try and test his theory now that he wasn't falling through a pitch-black dream void.

He knelt down on the ground and closed his eyes, channeling his thoughts into the sigil and concentrating on where he wanted to go.

 _Protect me._

There was a brief moment of weightlessness, and when he next opened his eyes, he was downstairs.

Nico warily stood up, bracing himself against the wall just in case the dizziness and fatigue kicked in from the shadow travel.

It didn't, and he almost cried out in happiness.

What actually happened was much worse.

Just when he thought he'd gotten off scot-free, a sharp, deep pain exploded in his shoulder, in exactly the spot where Moros had stabbed him in his dream. Biting back a yelp of pain, he fell back down to his knees and gripped his arm.

Sweat dotted his brow as he screwed his eyes shut. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to block out the blinding, searing pain that coursed through his entire arm. It _had_ only been a dream, right? There was no black blade protruding from his shoulder; no inky, tar-like blood oozing from the wound. In fact, it didn't even feel like there a wound there at all - the pain resonated deep within his muscles and tendons as if something _inside_ of his shoulder was broken.

And then, just as suddenly as it started, the pain stopped.

There was a bit of a dull throb afterward, but as far as Nico could tell, it seemed perfectly normal. He could move his arm without any pain, roll his shoulder around harmlessly.

Maybe he'd just imagined it? Laid on it wrong? Maybe it was a placebo effect, a remnant from his nightmare?

 _Gods_ , he needed sleep.

Pushing himself back up, Nico kept a hand against the wall as he made his way toward the kitchens. There were lights on in the foyer and entryway, and as he drew closer to the kitchen, he heard faint sounds coming from inside. He felt his pulse pick up as he poked his head inside and caught a glimpse of curly blond hair - but upon further inspection, he realized it was Will's mother.

Naomi Solace cradled her head in one hand and grasped a pen in the other as she hunched over the dining table, numerous papers scattered in front of her. She looked very tired, but at the same time, she seemed totally focused on whatever she was doing, undoubtedly pushing herself to her very limits.

So _that's_ where Will got it from.

Nico made to retreat from the kitchen, but Naomi had caught his movement from the corner of her eye and lifted her head to look up at him. "Oh! Hello there, Nico."

He froze in his spot, nervously fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt. "Uh… hi."

"Did you need somethin', dear, is everything alright?" she asked, getting up from her seat.

"Um, I was just going to get something to drink," Nico replied as she drew closer. Without anybody else there, Nico felt a bit awkward dealing with Will's mother one-on-one.

But… maybe she could clear up some things for him, some questions he had regarding her son.

Naomi stopped a couple of feet in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder, lifting his chin with the other. Nico jolted a bit at the contact, but made no effort to push her away - her expression was all too reminiscent of the look Will would take on when examining a patient.

"Hon, you look like you've seen a ghost." She briefly felt his forehead, still clammy with sweat, then moved her hand to rest on his other shoulder. "Nightmares?" she guessed, lowering her voice.

Nico opened his mouth to say otherwise, but he couldn't make the words come out - not when the dream had been so vivid and petrifying. He bit his lip, settling for a silent nod.

Naomi's eyes seemed to light up in understanding. "Bless your heart. Here, c'mon, why don't'cha come sit for a minute? I'll make you somethin'," she suggested, gently placing a hand on his back as she ushered him toward the table.

"Ah, no, that's okay," Nico objected as he was pushed down into a chair, "just some water would be fine…"

"Oh, hush," Naomi replied, giving him a pointed look. "You just sit there and rest, I ain't takin' no for an answer."

Nico was starting to see more and more similarities between her and Will.

He stayed put, though, quietly watching her as she flitted around the kitchen, retrieving a jug of milk and a bear-shaped bottle full of some amber fluid that he couldn't really pinpoint in his state of drowsiness.

Minutes later, she placed a steaming mug on the table in front of him and took a seat in the chair she'd been sitting in before. "There y'go, sweetie, warm milk and honey. Will always liked it after he woke up from nightmares, it put him right back to sleep."

"Thank you," Nico replied softly, subconsciously storing that information away for later use. He wrapped his hands around the warm mug and lifted it to his lips, blowing on it for a moment before taking a careful sip. Instantly, he felt himself relax a bit as the sweet liquid warmed him from the inside out. "...it's good."

Naomi gave him a pleased smile and pushed her glasses up on her nose as she picked her pen back up, looking back down at her papers.

Nico was content enough to quietly sip his milk and take in the woman's presence. Even though he'd only known her for half a day at most, he felt himself growing more comfortable with her by the second; she and Will shared so many of the same mannerisms that it was kind of hard _not_ to.

He'd finished about half the mug when he spoke up again. "Has he really not been back here since coming to camp?"

"'Fraid so," she replied, not looking up from her work. "He feels like he's gotta stay at camp throughout the year 'cause of his powers, which I can't fault him for, y'know, he's a healer. And I know the lives of demigods are a _constant_ struggle, not just during the summer…"

"Do you stay in contact at all...?" Nico fixed his eyes on his mug, swallowing the lump in his throat. Something about the situation didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was the fact that Will could still actually visit his mother, yet he just _didn't_ \- Nico knew the blond had his reasons for it, but still, he couldn't help but feel a little bitter.

The few times he'd tried to contact his own mother, Bianca had cut him off. She'd done it for his sake, he knew, but it still pained him; not knowing whether or not their mother had become a permanent fixture of Asphodel, or had gone to Elysium, or had chosen to be reborn… he would've liked to know what had happened to her, at the very least. He would've given anything to just know _that_ much.

Naomi's voice broke him from his thoughts. "We Iris-message regularly, usually 'bout once a week or so," she replied, setting her pen back down. "It does hurt, not bein' able to see him in person, but… we both agree that it's for his own protection."

Nico raised an eyebrow at her. "Protection?"

She let out a soft sigh and looked over at him, leaning back in her chair. "Will isn't a fighter, he readily admits this. He's always talkin' about how much he wishes he were a better archer, or takin' up swordfighting, stuff like that. He claims that the only thing he's good at is healin' - which I don't believe, of course - but at the same time I can kinda understand, y'know?"

He nodded in response. "I try to convince him otherwise. I couldn't tell you how many lives he's saved just by healing them. He does it practically every day, so much that he wears himself out."

"So I've heard." Naomi gave him a soft smile, though there was a look of sadness in her eyes. "I worry about him so much, Nico. He's such a gentle boy, always has been. He'd never hurt a fly, he just wants to help people… but who's helpin' _him?_ What'll happen if and when he ends up in a 'fight-or-die' situation?"

Her smile faded as she pulled off her glasses, burying her face in the palm of her hand. "I can't lose my boy, he's my only son, the light of my life. It just kills me, knowin' that I can't be there to protect him and keep him safe. That's what mamas are supposed to do, right?"

Nico watched her quietly, a pang of sympathy running through his chest, throbbing like his shoulder had been earlier. He quickly downed the rest of his milk and let out a sigh. There was something familiar about her words - in fact, Nico himself recalled saying something similar after Bianca had embarked on the quest that had ultimately ended her life.

He hadn't been there to protect her, and then she'd died. But…

Hesitantly, he reached over to place his hand atop Naomi's, where it sat on the table next to her glasses. "It's… he'll be okay," he started shakily, "I can fight for the both of us. Cecil and Lou Ellen too, and Mena. He's- he's in good hands."

Now, if Nico could just convince _himself_ of that, then he'd be good to go.

Naomi gave him another smile, though, clasping his hand in both of hers. "Thank you, hon, I'm sure he is." She paused and gave his hand a light squeeze before releasing it. "...he really admires you, you know," she continued quietly.

Nico felt his ears flush, completely taken by surprise. "I… _what_?"

"Will really does talk about you a lot, in our Iris-messages. He's always spoken very highly of you."

"I, um." Nico averted his eyes to stare into the empty mug in front of him, focusing on the outline of a chicken at the bottom. "What does he say…?"

From the corner of his eye, he could see her grin and shake her head. "He just goes on and on about how strong and brave you are, how he wishes he could be more like you. Nothin' but good things, really - well, except that time he kept you in the infirmary for, what was it, three days?"

He snorted a bit in response. "I guess I did kind of give him a hard time about that." Nico had no idea what to do with the other information she'd given him, though. Will really wanted to be like him? It didn't make any sense. Why would _anyone_ want that…?

Before he could address it, Naomi continued. "That boy's stubborn as an ox, but his heart's in the right place. He worries over most of his patients like that, though not quite to such a degree as you…"

Nico lifted his head, raising a curious eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

She gave him a quick wink, her eyes twinkling like she knew something he didn't. "I think you'd best ask _him_ about that, dear. Can't have his mama givin' away _all_ his secrets."

He opened his mouth to reply, but a sudden yawn cut him off. The warm milk had helped a lot; his breathing had calmed, and his eyelids were starting to droop again.

Naomi took notice. "Hon, you should probably go on up to bed. You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

Nico gave her a short nod and pushed himself up out of the chair. "Yeah, I kind of feel like it, too. Thanks for the milk. And… for the talk."

"Anytime, Nico." Naomi stood up as well and placed her hands on either side of his head, gingerly smoothing out his messy hair. "You let me know if you need anythin' else, okay?"

* * *

Nico's mind was buzzing as he made his way toward the stairs leading up to the second level. Everything that Will's mother had told him… he really didn't know what to make of it. Her words just kept bouncing back and forth, and the more he tried to make sense of him, the more confused he got.

 _He's such a gentle boy._

 _He really admires you, you know._

 _He wishes he could be more like you._

It was actually a little frustrating, if he had to be honest with himself. Nico still didn't see himself as anything special, he didn't think he was brave or strong. He'd convinced his father to fight alongside him in the Titan War; he'd hauled a forty-foot statue across the Atlantic Ocean. He'd had his duties to fulfill, and he'd done them, but in his opinion, any other demigod could've done the same thing while coming out much better than him in the end.

But if Will thought otherwise…

Nico paused in front of the stairs. At the end of the hallway, he could see a door that was slightly ajar, a soft light coming from inside. Normally, he wouldn't bother investigating, but he could just barely make out the words on the little sign taped to it, in childish handwriting:

 _Dr. Will's Office_

His curiosity getting the better of him, Nico quietly padded down the hallway so that he could take a careful peek inside of the room. There wasn't a lot to see from where he was standing, so he slowly pushed the door open enough for him to slip inside.

Many posters depicting medical diagrams (as well as astronauts and space travel) covered the walls - which, in the dim light, he could tell were pale blue - and there was a multitude of glowing star decals affixed to the ceiling. A couple of bookshelves and a desk lined the walls, and at the other end of the room was a bed that was just barely enough for one person; its sole occupant clutched a body pillow in his arms, blond curls peeking up over it.

Nico cautiously approached the bed. As far as he could tell, Will was sound asleep. He'd changed into a tank top and shorts, but hadn't bothered pulling the covers back or anything. He simply laid there with his arms wrapped around the pillow, soft snores coming from between his parted lips. From the looks of it, he'd just collapsed onto his bed and went right to sleep.

The small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed was the sole source of light in the room, and Nico couldn't help but peer over at it.

There were a couple of photographs in brightly colored frames sitting near the lamp. One seemed to be of a grade school class, but the one that drew Nico's attention showed Will as a small child alongside a younger-looking Naomi. They appeared to be on a beach of some sort - Galveston, he assumed - and Will was wearing a blue t-shirt with a yellow sun printed on it and a pair of sunglasses that looked entirely too big for him. He grinned widely as his mother hugged him; his smile was just as brilliant as the ones he held now, the only difference being the absence of his two front teeth.

Nico felt his lips curl into a fond smile as he gazed at the picture. Will really was an adorable child, especially in what appeared to be much simpler times, before the struggles of being a demigod had their chance to settle in.

He caught a movement in the corner of his eye and jolted a bit, holding his breath. He sighed in relief as he realized that Will had only shifted a bit and was still fast asleep. Nico tried to ignore the fluttering of his heart as he carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, his focus shifting to his sleeping friend.

He'd seen the son of Apollo asleep before, but now, as he lay curled up in his childhood bed, something seemed markedly different. Will looked so relaxed, so _at peace_ that it tugged at Nico's heartstrings - he didn't think he'd ever seen another demigod sleep so soundly, so unguarded. There was something of an innocent look about him that Nico didn't dare disturb, because then Will would wake up and realize that he was still the son of a Greek god, still on a quest to raise the sun before Chaos devoured everything it had ever created.

Naomi's words came back to him again.

 _It just kills me, knowin' that I can't be there to protect him and keep him safe._

Nico bit his lip as he made the realization that he had to do what Naomi couldn't. He had to protect Will, to fight for him whenever the healer couldn't fight himself. He had to do this - not only to bring peace of mind to Will's mother, but to himself as well.

Will had brought him back from the brink of death. The least Nico could do was return the favor.

Carefully, he reached down to touch Will's hair, fingertips gently threading through the soft curls. The blond breathed slowly and evenly, showing no signs of awakening, and Nico felt a surge of affection blossom in his heart.

Glancing down at the foot of the bed, he noticed a soft plush blanket draped over Will's feet. Nico slowly stood up and gripped the material before pulling it up and over his friend's body.

 _I'll protect you,_ he thought to himself, _I'll keep you safe._

As Bianca had done to him many times before, Nico leaned down to briefly press a feather-light kiss into Will's hair, sealing the silent promise he'd made.

In the back of his mind, he knew that when he woke up again he'd realize that he had _actually kissed Will Solace_ , nevermind that it was as short and light as the ones he would give to Hazel. But for now, Nico was so sleepy that he couldn't work up the energy to panic about it, so he let himself stroke Will's hair one last time before standing.

He stepped away from the bed and turned his back to allow the shadows to carry him back up to his own room, completely oblivious to the pair of sky-blue eyes fixed on his retreating form.

* * *

 **A/N:** So. Two days until The Hidden Oracle is released. I've actually seen a few spoilers already, but if you guys have seen any, I'm asking you to **PLEASE REFRAIN FROM POSTING SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS**. Not just for my sake, but for the sake of others who are reading this. I won't be getting my copy until next weekend, so I'd like to remain oblivious to the actual plot until I read it for myself, thanks.

Anyway, **what does that mean for this fic?** Nothing, to be honest. I knew going into it that ToA was probably going to wreck a few of the things I had planned for this. I'm still going to proceed as planned, and I don't anticipate having to retcon anything I've already written. If anything it'd probably just be a few bits of dialogue here and there.

I have no idea what I'm going to update next. We'll be hitting a significant plot point in the next chapter, but I may update Never Close Our Eyes before then. (Y'all should check that out btw. It's also Solangelo. *double pistols and a wink*)


	10. The Somnolent Suitor

**A/N:** Hey y'all. If you missed the last "chapter" I posted, which was just a little update after having read ToA, here's what went down as a result:

1) I've tweaked some things here and there (for example, Will's mother's name since it's been revealed in canon), mostly just added and taken out and edited some dialogue  
2) The only real significant change is that I've rewritten a good portion of the very first chapter, so that Apollo is no longer present. Hopefully this can keep the fic as something resembling canon compliant, but if it doesn't then tbh I doubt I'll be too bothered by it.

So yeah, timeline-wise, this takes place between Blood of Olympus and The Hidden Oracle. There may be small spoilers from the latter here and there, but nothing major. I want people to still be able to read this even if they have yet to read ToA, sooooo yea.

* * *

Nico would've liked to say that he'd fallen asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

He would've liked to say - after his discussion with Will's mother, after the cup of warm milk he'd had, after seeing Will sleep so soundly - that he'd had a very restful sleep, with pleasant dreams and a refreshed feeling upon waking up.

(Well, he _did_ say it in not as many words, but that didn't mean it was actually true.)

In reality, he'd been nicely settled back in bed for all of ten seconds before his eyes shot open. The next few hours had been spent blankly staring out into the darkness of the bedroom while his mind raced a thousand miles a second. Everything that had happened since he woke up from the nightmare, not to mention the nightmare itself, had immediately startled whirling through his mind faster than any tornado that Jason could cook up.

What were they going to do about Nyx? Would Chaos really rise from Tartarus? Why hadn't Will visited his mother more often when he was perfectly capable of doing so? What would happen if he really _did_ end up in a fight-or-die situation? Would Nico really be able to protect him? How the hell did Moros end up in his dreams? Why did his shoulder still feel weird? Did Cecil have any concept of personal space? Was that Cecil's sneakers he kept smelling? Could Will treat severe foot odor? Why couldn't Nico just get a good night's rest for _fucking_ once?

He'd told his brain to shut up and go to sleep. Eventually, it had calmed down…

...but just as Nico had started to doze off, the door opened and an unusually loud Hunter of Artemis had announced that it was time to get up. " _Wake up, boys, we've got a lot of ground to cover today."_

Needless to say, Nico felt like a zombie as he sat at the large table in the dining room, absently picking at a plate of assorted fruit. Of course, the others seemed _plenty_ awake; he doubted that any of _them_ had awakened from a heinous nightmare, only to be completely unable to fall asleep afterward. Lucky bastards.

Across from him sat Cecil, who had a large map spread out on his side of the table. He was preoccupied with explaining to Lou Ellen and Mena - one on each side of him - the route that they'd be taking to Albuquerque. The weird part was that he kept breaking away to mention sauerkraut or colonic irrigations and Nico truly had no idea if he was dreaming, or if it was just Cecil being Cecil.

Judging from the way Mena groaned and Lou Ellen smacked him upside the head, Nico decided it was the latter.

He felt himself vaguely start to nod off when something nudged his arm, causing him to jolt a bit. "Nnnn- I'm awake, what? What."

Nico turned to his left to find Will watching him, a look of concern on his face. "You okay there, Death Boy?"

Taking a moment to stifle a yawn and run his hands through his unruly black hair, Nico nodded in response. "Yeah, I'm- I'm okay. Totally fine."

Will didn't look convinced. "You sure? 'Cause you just poured salt into your coffee instead of sugar."

"What, no I didn't." To prove a point, Nico picked up his mug and blew on it for a moment before taking a small sip.

Why did this shit always happen to him? What terrible decision did he make in his life that caused him to end up here?

Will awkwardly patted him on the back while he coughed and sputtered.

Lou Ellen gave Nico a sympathetic look as he bit into an orange slice in a desperate attempt to rid himself of the foul salty bitterness. "Dude, you don't look like you got any sleep," she said, resting her chin in her hand.

"What gave it away," Nico sarcastically mumbled from behind the strangely yellow peel, his nose crinkling in disgust, "the bags under my eyes or the fact that I apparently can't tell oranges from lemons?"

From the corner of his eye, he could see Will shaking slightly. He shot a sharp glare at the blond once he realized he was trying not to laugh. "Having fun laughing at my expense, Solace?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Will replied, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "I just- you're adorable and I _can't handle it_."

Nico could _physically feel_ himself go red. In lieu of sputtering incoherently, he reached over the table and grabbed an eclair off of Cecil's plate and stuffed it in his mouth. "I'm not adorable," he mumbled around the pastry, "I'm the Ghost King and all of you should be afraid."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure Solace was right on this one," Cecil snickered. "You're totally pouting like a little kid right now." He leaned over the table, putting on a ridiculous baby-talk voice, "looks like little Billy missed his nappy-time!"

Nico flipped him off.

"Absolutely _precious_ ," Lou Ellen continued, "I feel like we should dress you up in a little sunflower costume and sell you to Anne Geddes."

Nico flipped them _both_ off, then shot a pleading glance in Mena's direction. _Please. You hate boys, right? Tell me I'm not adorable and save me from this humiliation._

Unfortunately, Mena didn't pick up on his ESP. A smirk on her face, she leaned back in her chair and smugly crossed her arms. "I have to agree, di Angelo. You'd be a great calendar baby, I'm sure."

Nico didn't have enough hands to flip her off too, so he settled for dropping his head down onto the table with an audible _thunk_. "I hate you all."

* * *

Thankfully, the teasing came to an end once everyone realized that they should probably be heading out soon. According to Cecil, it was going to take _at least_ another ten hours to get to Albuquerque - where the air smelled like warm root beer, he claimed - and Nico silently prayed to Hypnos that he could actually get some damn _sleep_ on said ride.

Thanks to Will's mother, all of their provisions had been restocked. Although, according to Will, she'd gone a little… overboard.

"Please, baby, you can _never_ go overboard when packing for a long trip," Naomi gently scolded her son with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, it's unusually cool for August, and Albuquerque's at the tail-end of the Rockies so it's gonna be cold."

"Fair point, but don't you think extra jackets _and_ blankets for each of us is kinda overkill?"

"You never know what you're gonna be runnin' into!"

Now it was Nico's turn to laugh at someone's expense. He'd decided that he liked Will's mom, mostly because she spent as much time harassing Will as Nico himself did. (Their conversation from earlier hadn't been bad, either.) But more importantly, she was a kind woman, and Nico could easily see the influence she'd had on Will: they were both warm and open, and had a tendency to worry over little things. He couldn't help but smile a little as he watched the two of them banter.

Naomi even took the time to say goodbye to everyone individually - Cecil and Lou Ellen both got big hugs ( _nice_ ), Mena got a firm handshake and a warning to 'keep an eye on that leg' ( _what_ ), Will actually lifted her up off of the ground when he hugged her and promised he'd try to visit for the holidays ( _good_ ), and when she turned to Nico, he readily accepted the incoming hug.

"It was so nice to finally meet you," she said as she gave him a squeeze. Nico felt himself flush a bit as she pulled back to give him a friendly peck on the forehead, then lowered her voice so only he could hear. "Take care of my boy, okay?"

Nico had a hard time getting words to work - they kept trying to come out in Italian - so he just settled for a nod, and then with one last goodbye, he summoned Jules-Albert and then they were off.

Once everyone was settled in - Nico stretched out in the long seat toward the front of the limo - Will asked the question that had been on Nico's mind since they'd left.

"Is your leg _still_ bothering you, Mena?"

It took a second for Nico to remember that she'd been wounded when the Keres attacked. "It's fine," the Hunter replied coolly, "I keep having to clean it, is all."

The concern in Will's voice was clearly audible. "You know, it'd heal a lot faster if you'd let me take a look at it. I can find out how far the poison has spread and make sure that the wound stays closed."

"No thanks."

"But Ker wounds are really-"

" _It's fine, Solace,_ " she snapped, fixing him with her trademark icy glare. "Now drop it."

Will looked a bit taken aback; Nico could see the flash of hurt in his eyes. The blond opened and closed his mouth for a moment before hesitantly speaking up again. "...I just think-"

"I said _drop it_."

The anger in her voice was enough to shut Will up entirely, and Nico silently watched as he turned away from her to blankly stare out the car window instead.

Nico struggled to keep his eyes open as he processed the scene. On one hand, he knew where Mena was coming from; after all, he'd had his fair share of arguments with Will about letting himself be treated by the healer. He was no stranger to that. But on the other hand, he knew Will well enough to know that he was just trying to help. It was just like Naomi had said: _he's stubborn as an ox, but his heart's in the right place._

He heaved a sigh and pulled his blanket up to his nose - funny enough, it was the same blanket that Nico had draped over Will hours earlier, that _had_ to be a coincidence - and tuned everything out the best he could. Cecil and Lou Ellen were trying to break the awkward silence by talking about some song, apparently by a weird guy? Nico didn't know; all he wanted at the moment was sleep.

Apparently, his prayer to Hypnos had gone through, because he was completely out in less than ten minutes.

* * *

 _Gone… she's gone…_

A man's voice. Crying, sobbing, _wailing_.

 _She's never coming back…_

Despair, loneliness.

 _She's dead, she's gone forever, why was she taken from me…_

A lost love, perhaps?

 _They forgot about her and now she's gone…!_

Gone, forgotten.

 _They're all gone!_

There was more than one.

 _My beautiful wife, my beautiful children…_

Family.

 _I'll never see them again…_

Loss? Death? Abandonment?

 _There's only one left... won't come to me…_

Only one left.

 _Hates me… I want to see…_

Refusal.

 _Given up…_

Relinquished.

 _Come to him._

A second voice.

 _He has a message for you._

 _...I want them back, I want them back…_

A message, a plea.

 _When you find him, you will know._

 _...please, come back to me…_

Knowledge. Answers.

 _He has a favor to ask of you._

 _Bring them back… please…_

A desperate, inconsolable, hopeless request.

 _Come to him._

 _Come back…_

 _Accept his request._

 _Come back to me…_

 _Bring them back._

 _Bring them back!_

Bring them back.

* * *

It was probably his fault for not buckling himself into the seat anyway, but Nico would've appreciated it if his awakening had been a bit less... abrupt.

He'd been dreaming about voices: two of them, one calm and cool, and the other completely despondent. Something about a message, a favor? A missing family?

Nico didn't really know. He was a bit more preoccupied with where he'd landed as a result of his little tumble.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Will said from above him, a smirk on his face.

"You know, being an idiot while your crotch is in headbutting range isn't a wise choice," Nico retorted with a glare as he picked himself up from between Will's knees, sitting back in the seat he'd rolled out of. "So, what happened, why did we stop?"

Cecil's lower half was hanging out from the limo's sunroof. "Traffic jam," he replied as he lowered himself back inside, "a really big one. Goes on for miles."

"Fantastic. Any idea where we are?"

"Downtown Albuquerque, looks like," Lou Ellen answered. "At least we're stopped in the right place."

Nico blinked in surprise. "Did I seriously sleep the entire ride up here?"

"Yeah, man, you were out cold. Has anyone ever told you that you sleep like the dead?"

"Of _course_ not. That's a _ridiculous_ concept, nobody has _ever_ told me that before in my entire _life!_ " The sarcasm was so thick that you could cut it with a Stygian iron sword. "So… traffic. That's a problem."

Will fidgeted in his seat, absently tapping his feet on the floor. "Mhm… what should we do? Not a single car is moving out there."

"We get out and walk," Mena replied sharply. "If we're in the right place, then there's no need to waste any time sitting here. We get out, get off the street, do what we came here to do, and then we can be out of this place as soon as possible."

Nico raised an eyebrow at her. She had the right idea, he had to admit, but the way she explained it made it sound like she wanted to be anywhere _but_ here. And again, he found himself wondering why Artemis had made them take her along - sure, she was a pretty good fighter, but so far her attitude had been… unpleasant, to put it lightly. She really only seemed to get along with Lou Ellen, which he knew would be a given from the start.

Cecil's voice broke his thoughts. "Yeah, that'd work! The traffic is at an actual standstill right now, so it won't be too hard to just hop on out and get off the highway."

Ten minutes and a few aggressively loud car honks later, the group had managed to work their way off of the highway and to a nearby service station.

"So, we're here to find Endymion. That's what Memnon said, right?" Lou Ellen asked as she stretched her arms out, her back audibly popping.

Will nodded at her. "Yeah. The eternally sleeping consort of Selene is somewhere in this city, and that's literally all we know. Any bright ideas about where we should start looking?"

Cecil took that moment to return from inside of the service station, and he was grinning like a loon. _Never trust a Hermes kid who grins like they've won the lottery,_ Nico thought to himself.

"I might have an idea…" Cecil started, producing a handbook about the city.

Will narrowed his eyes at him. "Does this involve Weird Al Yankovic in any way, shape, or form?"

Cecil waggled his eyebrows. "Think about it for a sec. Imagine, if you will, that you're a guy who got put into an immortal sleep by Zeus so your girl could totally bang you."

"That's a _real nice_ way of putting it," Lou Ellen commented, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. I know. Kinda creepy when you think about it. But anyway! You're immortal as heck and also asleep as heck. And when all the Greek stuff moves over to America, where do you think you're gonna go? Probably some fancy hotel or something, right, I mean, your wife is loaded and stuff."

"Not to mention faded," Nico grumbled under his breath.

"And listen. _Listen_. There is one particular hotel chain in this city that I, personally, feel would be a _great_ place to start! Solace, Lou, you guys know the words, say it with me!"

"Albuquerque Holiday Inn, where the towels are _oh-so-fluffy_ ," they recited monotonously.

" _Yessssss!_ " Cecil pumped his fist in response. "Now see, according to this thing," he flipped through his handbook, "there are seven Holiday Inns within the city. If we split up we can cover a lot more ground. Thankfully, the traffic jam only has the highway screwed up, so the city streets should be pretty navigable, like, there's buses and stuff."

It wasn't a bad plan, really, though there was clearly some obscure pop culture reference that the son of Hermes was utilizing here - which Nico obviously didn't know, nor did he particularly care. Either way, it sounded solid enough, though he had a suggestion to add: "I don't think we should go alone. It's a big city, it's dark, and who knows what could be lurking out there."

"I agree," Will replied. "We didn't run into _any_ monsters between here and Dallas. It's freaking me out, honestly. You'd think Nyx would be pulling out all the stops to slow us down, but…"

"Don't look a gift pegasus in the mouth, Solace, you probably just jinxed us with that."

"So… buddy system, then?" Cecil asked. "I'm cool with that. There's an odd number of us, though."

"I'll go it alone," Mena suddenly cut in, after having been completely silent since they'd left the car.

Will shot a look at her, concern etched on his face. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." Before anyone could stop her, she turned on her heel and made her way across the street. Lights reflected off of her silver jacket as she started scaling an apartment building, easily maneuvering around the obstacles in her way.

Cecil let out a low whistle. "Man, I've always wanted to try parkour. She didn't even wait for the addresses, though…"

Nico rolled his eyes. "So give them to us, if she doesn't want to _waste time sitting here_ , then that's her problem."

"I guess so. Who's going with who?"

Before he could really think about it, Nico found himself glancing over to Will. Again, Naomi's words echoed through his mind - _I can't be there to protect him and keep him safe_ \- which, in turn, reminded him of the oath he'd silently made later that night.

The memory brought a blush to his face. Try as he might, he just couldn't forget the feeling of Will's soft curls against his lips.

It took Nico a moment to notice that the owner of said curls was watching him, too, and he promptly averted his eyes.

"I'll go with you, Cecil," Will suddenly spoke up, "it's been awhile since we've had some quality Bro Time, huh?"

Cecil nodded enthusiastically. "You cool with goin' with Nico, Lou?"

"I'm cool if he's cool."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Alright, guys! When we get done Solace can shoot up a light or something and we'll rendezvous. _Viva Albuquerque!_ "

* * *

Truthfully, Lou Ellen wasn't the worst partner Nico could've ended up with. Her powers over the Mist weren't quite as strong as Hazel's, but she had a large arsenal of various magical spells at her disposal to make up for it. Plus she was more tolerable than Cecil, and _definitely_ more so than Mena.

"So, I couldn't help but notice that you're not fond of our Hunter friend," she asked as they headed down a long sidewalk.

Nico rolled his eyes again. He'd done it so many times on this quest that he was surprised they weren't freely spinning away in his skull by now. "Gee, what tipped you off?"

Lou Ellen shrugged. "Neither of you have really made any effort to get along. Like, I know that's a thing with Artemis and the Hunters, they don't like men, but Mena gets along with Will pretty okay, and Cecil… well, she hasn't threatened to turn him into a boar and hunt him down or anything. Yet. So, what's up?"

The son of Hades heaved a sigh. Did he really want to answer that? Sure, he and Lou Ellen had gotten to know each other a bit since the war, largely due to Will's influence, but they were far from close. He wasn't sure if he was comfortable enough with her presence yet.

Most of the camp had heard the story about what had happened to Bianca, but he had yet to talk about it at length with even the friends that he _could_ consider "close". "It's a long story," he answered, hoping that the excuse would deter her.

"We're gonna be walking for a while, unless we can flag down a taxi or bus or something."

Nico looked over at her. To her credit, she did look genuinely curious, maybe even a bit concerned? He was used to that look coming from Hazel, Jason, or Will, but…

Something inside of him caved. "Okay, well," he started, taking a moment to consider exactly how far he wanted to go with this. "My track record with the Hunters is pretty shitty. You've heard about my… other sister, right?"

Lou Ellen nodded sympathetically. "Bianca, right? She was killed on a quest."

"Yeah." Nico took a deep breath to try and keep calm. "She joined the Hunters of Artemis before we were brought to Camp Half-Blood. She was going to leave me there at camp while she stayed with the Hunters. She left on the quest, and didn't make it back."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "She was all I had."

"Oh," Lou Ellen replied quietly. "I'm sorry, that really sucks. You don't have to say any more."

"Thanks," he mumbled, keeping his eyes focused on the sidewalk.

"I see where you're coming from, though. If that happened to me, then I'd probably feel the same way. You know, about the Hunters."

Nico only grunted and nodded in response, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"You know Mena's here to help though, right?" Her voice had picked up a little, probably in an attempt to cheer him up. It wasn't really working. "Artemis wouldn't have sent her along if she didn't trust her."

He didn't have an answer to that. Even if he did, he couldn't have voiced it - he felt his hair standing on end, goosebumps prickling on his skin.

Nico stopped and quickly examined the area.

Lou Ellen paused a few paces away. "What's up?"

He could feel it: a presence, a very powerful one. But where was it coming from?

"...we'd better move," he whispered, moving into a power walk.

"I feel something," Lou Ellen commented with a shiver, keeping in step with Nico. "I can't tell where or _what_ it is."

He nodded in response as they made to turn a corner, then immediately stopped in his tracks.

Passing underneath a street lamp in front of them, was a dark figure dressed in a black trenchcoat and fedora. That wasn't what freaked Nico out.

What freaked him out, what made his stomach flip, what made him feel lightheaded; what made him draw in a breath like it was the very last one he'd ever take, was the fact that he was meeting the golden eyes of Thanatos.

"Shit," he cursed, "that's not a good sign."

The god of death was very loyal to Hades and his domain. Nico respected him as a chthonic deity, for he was very efficient at his job of guiding the souls of the dead to the Underworld and keeping them there. Under normal circumstances, he had no problems with Thanatos; but, like many of the gods and daimons they'd already encountered on this quest, he was a son of Nyx. And considering their track record with children of Nyx... seeing him here, heading directly toward them, didn't bode well.

Instead of seeing what the god wanted, Nico grabbed Lou Ellen by the wrist and began sprinting in the opposite direction.

"What's going on, Nico?" she asked hurriedly as they wove between other people along the sidewalk.

"Thanatos," he replied sharply, "he shouldn't be here! I could get us away a lot quicker, but- but not with all these people here to see us."

"If it'll help us escape then I'll conceal us, and you can do what you have to. But dude, doesn't he work with your dad? What reason would he have to attack us?"

"He's a son of Nyx. Think about that for a moment." Once he was sure that the Mist had hidden them from view, he started making short, controlled shadow jumps from block to block; he tried his hardest to concentrate on the sigil on his hand while doing so, silently asking for its protection.

Lou Ellen was quiet as they continued their escape. "Yeah, okay, I get it," she replied, out of breath. "I can still feel his presence, but I'm so tired, I- I can't do this much longer…"

"Don't complain, just run."

This whole situation was so strange. As far as Nico could tell, Thanatos didn't seem to be giving any sort of chase, so maybe he wasn't here for them? He'd taken on some kind of human disguise, but that had been his same face, the same piercing eyes that Nico was so familiar with. Something about his aura was off, though - it made Nico feel tired, as if his energy was draining away...

As familiar with death as Nico was, though, he could tell that something wasn't quite right about it.

His train of thought came to a halt once he caught sight of an illuminated Holiday Inn sign in the distance.

"One more jump," he muttered, and then they were there.

As they entered the lobby, Nico cast a glance over at Lou Ellen. Her brow was dotted with sweat and she was panting quite heavily.

He released his grip on her wrist and leaned in, speaking quietly. "Come on, let's go upstairs or something, then you can stop hiding us."

She gave him a shaky nod in response, following after as he lead them toward a set of elevators. "Yeah, I- I can never hold that for too long."

Once they were inside one, she released her hold on the Mist, then dropped down to her knees. The two of them sat there and gasped for breath as the elevator began its ascent.

"So, what's the plan from here?" she asked once she'd managed to steady her breathing, looking up at Nico.

Nico let out a long, drawn-out breath and reached up to rub at his eyes. Even after all of the sleep he'd gotten, he could feel his eyes starting to droop. "Well, I- I didn't really plan that far. I guess the only thing we can really do is hop from floor to floor and see if we can sense any sleeping immortals."

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, which wouldn't have bothered Nico, were it not for the man that stepped in with them.

He cursed under his breath and instinctively stepped in front of Lou Ellen, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Thanatos," he breathed out as politely as he could manage, "got some business here?"

The man regarded them with a fierce golden gaze. "Close, but no."

Nico was about to question him again, when the god removed his fedora and trenchcoat. Were it not for his solid white hair and the pale, iridescent wings unfurling from his back, he truly would be a dead ringer for Thanatos, but the hourglass hanging around the man's waist was enough to confirm his true identity.

Nico heaved a sigh of relief, his anxiety drying up almost completely. " _Hypnos_. Okay, that's slightly less disconcerting."

"No wonder I feel like sleeping for days," Lou Ellen commented, stifling a yawn.

The son of Hades was inclined to agree, but he still stood guarded. They may not have had the eyes of Death staring down at them as Nico had initially thought, but he was still wary. "Why are you here?"

Hypnos sighed tiredly and popped his neck, reaching up to rub at the back of it. "Not to harm you, if that's what you're afraid of. Far too much effort on my part."

He turned to press one of the elevator buttons, watching the numbers go up as they continued to ascend. "Just making a routine house call to someone staying in this hotel."

Nico exchanged a glance with Lou Ellen as she pulled herself back to her feet. An unspoken agreement passed between them, and he cleared his throat before addressing the god of sleep again. "This wouldn't happen to be Endymion, would it?"

Hypnos turned look at him over his shoulder, letting out a short chuckle. "Lucky guess. You have business with him?"

"Uhh, yeah…" He gave the god a quick rundown of their mission, namely that Memnon had suggested they come here to see if there was any information that could be given regarding Eos.

Hypnos didn't really look like he was listening. "Tch, troublesome… not surprised about Mother rebelling after Apollo's fall, nor my daimon siblings acting up in response."

"Wait, did you not know about this?" Lou Ellen asked in surprise.

"Couldn't be bothered to find out. Was too busy sleeping." Finally, the elevator came to a stop - there was no way that this hotel had fifty floors, Nico noted - and Hypnos stepped out. "Coming?" he asked, casting a glance back at the two demigods.

They glanced at each other again, shrugged, and followed after the god.

The entire fiftieth floor was, oddly enough, one enormous room. There was something strangely haunting about how incredibly _empty_ the room was; there was little in the way of decor or furniture, and even the lighting seemed few and far between. The centerpiece of the room was a large, round canopy bed surrounded by a thin curtain the color of the full moon.

As they drew closer to the bed, Nico could feel himself growing sleepier and sleepier. He wanted to duck behind those shimmering curtains and curl up within the silvery sheets. He felt like he could sleep for days on end.

Finally, Hypnos pulled the curtain back enough to reveal an _exceedingly_ beautiful man asleep in the center of the bed. Nico couldn't help but stare; the man's head was covered in soft, shiny black ringlets, and his open eyes were the deepest, darkest blue, the color of the night sky. His pale face looked like it could have been carved from marble.

"Damn," Lou Ellen muttered quietly from her place beside Nico, "Selene has good taste."

Inwardly, Nico had to agree with her.

He watched as Hypnos made his way through the curtain and moved to where Endymion was resting, gingerly pulling the man's head up to rest on his thighs. "His eyes remain open so that he can always be able to see Selene. But she has faded, as have their fifty daughters."

The god's dark fingers were a stark contrast to Endymion's ivory skin as they traced the angles of his face. "And this way, I can also meet his eyes."

Hypnos glanced up at them, motioning for the two demigods to have a seat.

"Were you in love with him, too, or...?" Lou Ellen asked as she pulled herself up onto the large bed and made herself comfortable.

Closing his own eyes, Hypnos silently nodded.

Nico gazed at the two men for a moment. Something about the scene had reminded him of the night before, when he'd been watching Will sleep - and in that moment, he could sympathize with the god. Will had been sleeping so peacefully, so soundly, that Nico had found it hard to focus on anything else. And now, here he was, silently watching the memory mirrored in Hypnos and Endymion.

He yawned slowly, laying down onto his side. They had come here for information, but honestly, all Nico wanted to do was go to sleep. Whether it was because of the close proximity to Hypnos or not, he couldn't tell, but soon enough, he felt his eyes close and he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **A/N:** #LittleKnownGreekMythFacts: In some accounts, Hypnos was in love with Endymion and blessed him to be able to sleep with his eyes always open. It's funny to me because I had planned for Hypnos to appear in this segment from the very beginning, but I had no idea about him actually being involved with the Selene/Endymion myth until tonight when I was doing my research on him! I love it when this shit happens.

Anyway, this chapter feels a bit rushed to me tbh, but I don't know. if I had to wager a guess, I'd say we're maybe about 50-60% through the story...? It's really tough to tell considering how my writing gets away from me and I end up having to push certain events back a chapter h-haha. But it's about time Cecil and Lou got some time in the spotlight, huh?

Also, the song that Cecil keeps referencing is "Albuquerque" by Weird Al, in case y'all were curious. :P

Repeating myself from the last chapter: _**no Hidden Oracle spoilers in the comments, please!**_


	11. The Dream's Divulgence

Nico opened his eyes to good news and bad news.

The good news that he wasn't back on Nightmare Knoll. He wasn't breathing in the blood-tinged air, feeling its complete stillness; he wasn't deafened by the heavy silence. He wasn't reminded of his past encounters there, of his dying friends, of the fight with Moros.

The bad news was that his surroundings were pitch-black, much like the recurring dream he'd had when all of this had started.

There was something different about it this time, though. He felt as if he were standing on solid ground, and the shadows weren't reacting to him, weren't dragging him into their depths. He could move freely, see his own form clearly, even walk - not that he could tell if he was actually going anywhere or not.

Also, this time he wasn't alone.

"Nico?" Lou Ellen's voice sounded out. "What the hell happened?"

He turned around, in the direction the voice had come from, and there she was, plain as day and looking _very_ confused. "Weren't we just…?"

"Yeah," Nico finished for her. "We were in the Holiday Inn, with Hypnos and Endymion. The last thing I remember is sitting on the bed, but I guess I fell asleep..."

"I must have, too," she replied, scratching her head. "I mean, it's not surprising because _Hypnos_ , but- are we having the same dream right now?"

Nico groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't know. Maybe I'm dreaming that you're here, or- I really don't know."

He hoped not. Considering his track record with dreams as of late, the last thing he wanted was someone else listening in on him. There were too many terrifying notions, too many private thoughts. Too many secrets.

Maybe, if he were lucky, Clovis would float by and reassure him that yes, this was just a regular ol' run-of-the-mill dream, and that there definitely weren't any other demigods or godly presences sitting here watching his deepest fears play out in full high-definition 1080p or whatever they were calling televisions these days.

 _I wouldn't rule out godly presences, boy,_ a familiar voice sounded from within Nico's mind, in response to his thoughts.

"Oh no," he choked out, burying his face in his hands, "this is _so_ not happening right now."

"What isn't happening?" Lou Ellen asked, moving closer to him. "What was that voice?"

Great, she had heard it, too. What was next? A god was going to show up and inform them that this new dream of Nico's was being broadcast all over Olympus TV, waiting for him to make a fool out of himself?

 _As much as Aeolus would_ love _the ratings, you've been given a reprieve in that regard._

" _Wow_ ," Nico replied with another groan, "that's so _kind_ of you!" Tugging at his hair again, he stomped forward and spread his arms wide, as if addressing the abyss in front of him. "Alright! Okay, let's get this over with! Tell me which child of Nyx is going to come out and inform me of our impending doom _this time_!"

"Uh, Nico?"

He didn't even hear Lou Ellen, didn't even feel her tap him on the shoulder. His rant had progressed enough to where he'd slipped into Italian without even realizing it. " _Listen, okay, I get it. I've seen the pattern now. I fall asleep, I dream, some weird shit happens, the next thing I know is I've got a daimon on my ass that's either trying to kill me or tell me about how the universe is going to end, or maybe even both!_ "

Lou Ellen clasped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a strong shake. "Nico- is that Italian, what the heck- dude, _look_."

Once he snapped out of his tirade, Nico shrugged her hand off and looked to where she was pointing. He could make out a tall figure in a long, dark hooded cloak making its way toward them, their image flickering and shimmering as if it were a mirage. The figure, if not for the glittering stars and galaxies swirling through their cloak, would've been completely hidden within their pitch-black surroundings.

As it drew closer, the figure reached up to pull its hood back, and Nico immediately realized who stood before them.

"Morpheus," he addressed, more as a statement than a question.

 _You have a strong memory, son of Hades._ The god's voice continued to resonate around them, as if it were coming from the blackness itself.

Nico took a defensive stance, giving Lou Ellen a slight push backwards. "Let me guess. You've been trying to contact me through my dreams, and since I've had nothing but shitty awful _nightmares_ lately, you've decided to suck it up and come to me in person."

Morpheus shrugged lazily, his face nothing but a blur that seemed to keep changing like a shifting dreamscape. _Not in as many words, but yes, you are correct. Blame my fellow Oneiroi, Ikelos and Phantasos, for the nightmares. We are merely trying to warn you, but those two… tend to get carried away._

"Warn us about what?" Nico countered, narrowing his eyes. "I've had my fill of end-of-the-world scenarios already, thanks."

The god of dreams turned around and brought up a pale hand, motioning for the two demigods to follow him. Nico and Lou Ellen exchanged a glance before shrugging and trailing after him.

They walked for what felt like days. No matter how far they seemed to move through this endless black abyss, nothing ever changed. Nico wasn't even sure that they were even _going_ anywhere. Though he had to admit that he definitely preferred the all-encompassing darkness to, say, the pulsing veins and other assorted horrors from his usual dreams.

Lou Ellen broke the silence. "Um, Morpheus, sir," she started politely, "I heard you sided with Kronos during the second Titan War. Shouldn't you be like… trying to fight us?"

If the daughter of Hecate were anyone else, Nico would've elbowed her for that one. "Don't give him ideas," he whispered bitterly.

Morpheus paused, turning to peer at them over his shoulder as if he were actively considering it. But, to their relief, he simply faced forward and kept walking. _Even the gods make mistakes sometimes,_ he replied in a monotone voice.

"Finally, one of you admits it," Nico grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Before long, a flash of light loomed on the horizon (wherever it happened to be in this place). As they drew closer, Nico could tell that the light was coming from behind what looked like a door, of all things; Morpheus confirmed his suspicions soon enough when he reached forward and pushed it open, light flooding into the abyss.

They were suddenly back in the hotel room, watching themselves sleep alongside Hypnos and-

"They're gone, they're all gone," a mournful voice sounded throughout the room. Nico looked down to see Endymion with tears streaking down his handsome face, staring up at the ceiling with eyes completely devoid of anything - except for a _very_ particular kind of sorrow, one that Nico understood all too well.

"You sent me that last dream," he whispered in realization. "Didn't you, Morpheus. It was Endymion crying out, and you're the one who told me to come to him."

The god regarded Nico with a short nod. _In his dreams, Endymion endlessly weeps for his beloved, the titan-goddess Selene, as well as their fifty lost daughters. They have all faded from the minds of mankind, and Endymion can do nothing but sleep and silently mourn._

"He's the same as Tithonus and Memnon," Lou Ellen muttered, nudging Nico with her elbow. "Mortals who became immortal because of the will of a goddess…"

"Looks like it's a habit that runs in the family," Nico observed with a nod of his own. "Tithonus suffers the long-term effects of carelessly granted immortality in a physical way. But for Endymion, it's more mental…"

Unsurprisingly, he felt like he could sympathize with the eternal sleeper. Having lost a loved one just as Endymion had, Nico had long since come to terms with the fact that there was no end in sight to the pain and suffering that came along with it. Bianca had faded from his life just as Selene had from Endymion's, and there was nothing that could ever bring her back, not as he remembered her.

But then, it dawned on him: _bring them back_ , Endymion had repeated in his dream. Bring back Selene, goddess of the moon, who was the sister of Helios, god of the sun - this was the "favor" Endymion had wanted to ask of him. They were already well into their quest to resurrect Helios and bring him back into the memories of all, so why not do the same for Selene, while they were at it?

From the corner of his eye, Nico could see a small portion of Morpheus' ever-shifting face settle into a smirk. _Clever boy,_ Morpheus observed, _you may just save us all yet._

"Right, okay," Nico murmured, focusing on Endymion. "We awaken Helios, we awaken Selene. We're already on our way to Eos. This… this might actually be _doable_."

Lou Ellen turned to him, brows knitting in confusion. "Huh? What's that all about?"

Nico ignored her in favor of turning to the god of dreams. "Thanks for your help." He wasn't expecting a response, but something important occurred to him before any reply came, anyway. "Wait a second. Gods aren't supposed to directly help demigods during their quests."

 _Exceptions must be made sometimes,_ Morpheus replied, _because when faced with the threat of Chaos, even the gods themselves get desperate._

"Fair enough, but you're a son of Nyx. You're not taking her side on this?"

 _My siblings are all a bit divided in the matter. Some wish to aid our mother in her plans, such as Dolos, Apate, and the Keres. But there are just as many of us who do not wish to be consumed by the Void, like myself and Moros._

"Wait, _wait_ , hold on a second," Lou Ellen interrupted, making a time-out gesture with her hands. "What is he talking about, Nico? What have you been keeping from us?"

Mentally cursing himself, Nico briefly turned to glance at her. "I'll explain everything later," he replied softly in an attempt to placate her, then turned back to Morpheus. "You can't be serious. All Moros could talk about was _fate_ and _destiny_ and _Chaos consuming everything_. Don't tell me he was actually trying to _help!_ "

 _You'd be surprised, Nico di Angelo. Truthfully, he is a bit of a wildcard._ The dream god lifted a hand, pointing at Nico's right shoulder. _But know that he did not stab you_ entirely _out of malice. Remember his words._

Nico could hear Lou Ellen demanding answers, but her voice sounded distant as he remembered the fight with Moros atop Nightmare Knoll. He recalled how the daimon's black blade protruded from his shoulder, how the inky shadows had dripped from the wound like blood.

He recalled what Moros had said to him while he grit his teeth through the pain.

 _The deeper the pain, the closer the fate._

He clutched at his shoulder as it began to throb with the same jabbing pain that he felt when the invisible wound was first inflicted on him. Nico bit back a hiss as he felt himself topple forward into the bed where their real-world selves still slumbered, burying his face in the soft, shimmering sheets.

Somewhere between his agonized gasps and Lou Ellen's frantic cries of concern, the meaning of Moros' words became painstakingly clear to him.

They had been given a deadline, and Nico's shoulder was the timer.

The more pain he felt, the closer they were to Chaos emerging.

 _Shit._

Nico's entire body shook as he struggled to tough out the aching throb. There were two conclusions he could draw from this, if it already hurt this much: a) they were in more immediate danger than he'd thought, or b) the pain was only going to get worse and worse as time went on.

Neither option was really in his favor.

To his relief, it finally faded just as quickly as it came, much like the time he'd felt it while they were still in Texas. With a shuddering sigh, Nico pushed himself into a sitting position, drawing heavy, ragged breaths.

Lou Ellen crouched down in front of him, a worried look on her face. "Nico, are you okay? What just happened…?"

"My shoulder," he heard himself say, "I… it-"

Before he could explain any further, he was interrupted by Endymion suddenly springing up from where he lay, eyes blazing with the purest white light. Nico and Lou Ellen cautiously watched as streaks of gold spiraled their way up through Endymion's glossy black ringlets.

They glanced at each other, knowing what was about to happen.

 _The full moon fades, her dying light_ _  
_ _Relinquished to the Eternal Night_

The light abruptly faded, and Endymion dropped back down onto the bed, his head falling back in Hypnos' lap. Eos had spoken again, this time through her sister's lover.

 _Finally,_ Morpheus muttered tiredly. _I was beginning to think that she was never going to speak up._

"You _knew_ this was going to happen?" Nico asked incredulously, staring up at the god.

 _I told you that Endymion had a message for you, did I not?_

Nico groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Morpheus let out a short chuckle. _In any case, I should be sending you back now. Your friends may be in trouble._

"Great, just what we need," Nico grumbled, turning to Lou Ellen. "We should just go back to Texas. It was safe there."

"I'll say. We at least had some time to relax. It was nice."

Their tongue-in-cheek conversation was cut off when Morpheus nudged them both, directing them to intersect with their sleeping selves.

"This is weird," Lou Ellen said as she watched her two bodies join together.

"No kidding," Nico replied. He paused, sticking halfway out of his physical body, and pointed at Morpheus. "Tell your other _Oneiroi_ to cool it with the nightmares. I'm getting pretty sick of them."

A smirk solidified on the dream god's face. _I can't make any promises._

* * *

Nico stifled a yawn as he and Lou Ellen exited the hotel.

Waking up from the dream had been… weird. For one thing, it had literally happened in the blink of an eye - they had settled themselves down with their dreamselves and the second that Nico had blinked, Morpheus was gone and he'd felt a lot more corporeal.

He'd taken a moment to just stare at Lou Ellen, as if silently asking her if that was a thing that had actually happened. She'd shrugged in response, and then the two had made their way back toward the elevator as quickly as possible in order to give the slumbering Hypnos and Endymion some privacy.

They now stood outside, taking some time to regain their bearings - and, in Nico's case, process the information they'd been given.

He didn't even know what to mull over first: the two lines of prophecy that Endymion had spouted in Eos' voice, the realization that they now had _two_ fallen titan-gods that needed to be awakened, the thought that his own body was being used as a countdown to doomsday…

"Nico?" Lou Ellen suddenly spoke up. "You _are_ going to explain everything, right? Like, where you found time to meet Moros and apparently get stabbed in the shoulder?"

Nico heaved a sigh and leaned against the building. "Yeah, yeah, I will when we get back on the road. When we're all in one place."

She watched him with a look of intense concern on her face. She opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could, the air above the city suddenly exploded into light, golden beams cutting through the night sky like search lamps.

"Shit. That's got to be Will," Nico hissed, reaching for Lou Ellen's wrist again. "Come on!"

As they'd done before when running from who they'd initially thought was Thanatos, Lou Ellen shrouded them in Mist while Nico made short shadow leaps from block to block. Though this time, Nico felt that he couldn't make them in such rapid succession as he'd been able to before.

His shoulder was hurting again: a dull throb that pulsated in time with his heartbeat. He could feel his chest constrict under the pressure, and he took in long, hoarse breaths as his sprint slowed to a stop.

Nico leaned against a brick wall as he tried to block out the ringing in his ears. He could feel his entire body palpitating - a feeling he was intimately familiar with, and one he had hoped to never feel again.

 _Become the shadows._

 _You are one of us, son of Hades._

 _Come to us._

 _Give in._

No. No, no, no, _no_.

His vision swam as he squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to put the voices of the lost souls out of his mind. _No. Go away. I refused to submit to the lot of you during the war, and I still refuse now!_ I _control the shadows, not-_

Nico felt a pair of hands push him against the wall, followed by something cool and metallic pressing into his mouth. He very nearly reached for his sword to run it through his assailant, but he stopped himself when the taste of sweet, creamy _cannoli_ filling registered in his mind. Nectar.

Instantly, the fog over his mind began to lift, and his pulse began to slow to normal. The pain in his shoulder faded, and he opened his eyes to see Lou Ellen lowering the canteen from his mouth.

"Gods, di Angelo, you _flickered_ on me. Does Will know you're still doing this?" she asked, letting go of him to put the canteen away.

Nico wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his hoodie. "No, and I plan on keeping it that way. Now come on." He gripped her arm again, fully intending on hopping back into the shadows; however, he felt everything swirl around him with the very first step.

Lou Ellen pulled him back upright, tugging his arm around her shoulders to support him. "Whoa there, Zombie Boy, you sure you know which way is up?"

"I'm _fine_ ," he growled as he tried to shrug his way off of her. "Let's just go. Will needs help."

She raised an eyebrow at him as he continued to tug himself away. "Okay, yeah, I know. Calm your thirst, dude."

Nico looked up at her in confusion - what did _that_ have to do with anything, really - just as a flash of silver above them caught his eye. "Hey. Is that…?"

Sure enough, the two of them could make out Mena's glowing form running along the rooftops of the buildings across the street from them, effortlessly jumping from one surface to another, tucking herself into rolls, bouncing between walls.

Nico's eyes followed her until she disappeared around a corner. He finally freed himself from Lou Ellen's grip, only to have her heave him over her shoulders again. "What the _hell!_ "

"You can barely walk without falling on your face, and you're _definitely_ not doing anymore shadow traveling - Will would throttle me if he knew I'd let you do it _this_ much. So, I'm carrying you. Get on my back."

"Uh, _no way_. I'm not letting anyone _carry_ me when I'm perfectly capable of running myself."

Lou Ellen pursed her lips. With an unexpected amount of strength, she managed to haul Nico up onto her back piggyback-style, and he had no choice but to wrap his legs around her hips to ensure that he wouldn't fall off, as she was a good few inches taller than him.

"Okay, okay, you made your point," he commented, holding onto her shoulders. "But I don't have to like it."

He could hear her snort as she started jogging down the sidewalk. "Everybody likes piggyback rides, di Angelo, don't deny it. What the heck do you weigh, anyway? A hundred pounds soaking wet?"

"I don't know, probably."

* * *

Twenty minutes of running and a twisted ankle later, they rounded a corner, only to face an empty lot that was absolutely _packed_ with _empousai_.

"Really? _Really?_ " Lou Ellen groaned as she set Nico back onto his feet. He took a moment to scan the area; there didn't seem to be any sign of Will or Cecil - or Mena, for that matter - and the _empousai_ looked like they were getting restless.

Nico brandished his sword, speaking in a hurried whisper. "Go see if you can find the others. I'll take care of the monsters."

"Are you kidding? There's gotta be at least twenty of them!"

"Just _go!_ I can deal with a few bloodthirsty vampire girls!"

He watched Lou Ellen as she ducked into a nearby alleyway, then stepped into the lot, idly twirling his sword around.

"Hello, ladies, I don't suppose you've seen a tall, dorky blond around here, have you?" Nico raised his free arm, slicing through the air with a flat hand. "About this high, blue eyes, can't aim an arrow to save his life?"

The _empousai_ quietly watched him as he spoke, sneers slowly breaking out onto their faces in a contagion. "Well, _well_ , what is this?" one of them purred, stepping toward him. "Another lonely, lost little boy, walking _straight_ into our den? You know, I believe we _have_ seen your friend, why don't you come a little closer and we'll tell you where he is?"

Nico could feel her charmspeak attempting to probe into his mind. "I'd rather keep my distance, if it makes any difference to you," he replied, easily shrugging off the spell. "I don't feel like getting bitten tonight."

"Ah, but you want to know about your friend, don't you?" Another one crooned, suddenly sidling herself up to him. "He _was_ rather handsome, wasn't he, girls?"

A chorus of voices followed. "Oh, yes. I could've eaten him _all up_."

"He was awfully rude, shoving that light into our faces!"

"I got a taste of his friend! But he got away, those _crafty_ Hermes children."

Nico clenched his teeth. "Uh huh. So I'm assuming they ran off when that big, shiny light happened, right? Hypothetically, if you were in that situation, where would _you guys_ have gone?"

"Oh, um, probably into the alley-"

"Tell you what, why don't we forget about your friend and focus on _you_?" the first _empousa_ cut in, hovering near Nico's other side. "It's not often that we come across such an _adorable_ son of Hades," she trilled, "why don't we _get to know each other?_ "

She leaned in toward Nico's neck, baring her fangs.

A second later, she and the other _empousa_ that had approached him were crumbling into dust.

"I'm not interested in girls," Nico replied flatly, pointing his sword at the rest of the group. "Sorry for your bad luck."

The remaining _empousai_ shrieked and flew at him in rage.

He felt his lips curl into a smirk. "Twenty against one? I like those odds."

Nico leapt into the fray, his Stygian iron blade cutting through vampiric flesh like butter. He dodged flaming hair and sharp claws, left celestial bronze peglegs colliding with the concrete below, absorbed the monsters' very essences into his sword. _Empousai_ dropped like flies around him.

His winning streak didn't last for long.

He'd thinned out the herd by about half when he tripped on an abandoned pegleg and fell to the ground, his sword clattering down several feet away.

With the wind knocked out of his lungs, he barely had it in him to scream as the _empousai_ pounced upon him.

Or, they would have, were it not for the thin rays of golden light suddenly cutting through them.

The _empousai_ screeched at the top of their lungs as they backed away from him, clutching at their burning wounds.

Nico scrambled to his feet while the monsters were distracted, hastily retrieving his sword. He made a mad dash for the alleyway that Lou Ellen had disappeared into, very nearly barrelling someone over in the process.

That someone gripped his shoulders with warm hands, holding him stable as he reeled from the sudden dizziness. "Hey, Neeks. Where's the fire?"

Nico looked up and was met with blue eyes.

He could've hugged Will right then and there.

Instead, he shook his head and brushed his bangs out of his face. "On the _empousais'_ heads," he breathed, lips cracking a small grin at his joke. "What the- was that light _you_ , Solace?"

Will looked like he was scrutinizing every inch of him. "Yeah. Light arrows. I ran out of regular ones, but then I found I could just _make_ them with my light powers," he replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Nico felt his cheeks warm up under his gaze, and he shrugged Will's hands off his shoulders.

"Anyway, Cecil got bit, so Lou's taking care of him," the son of Apollo continued. "Have you seen Mena anywhere?"

"We saw her," Nico confirmed, bracing himself against a wall. "No clue where she is, though. It looked like she was headed this way."

"Damn. Looks like we'll have to-"

A choir of enraged shrieking filled the air, and the two boys were painfully reminded that they had company.

Nico turned to face the _empousai_ , keeping in front of Will as he lifted his sword again.

"How _dare_ you!" the lead _empousa_ wailed, one of her eye sockets steaming from where she'd been pierced by the light. "You're going to _pay_ for that, blondie!"

The monsters slowly advanced on them, and Nico backed up until he was pressed to Will's chest. They were completely cornered.

The son of Hades gripped his sword with shaking hands, sweat running down his face. He was _so tired_. Between being put to sleep by Hypnos (or maybe it was Morpheus? He couldn't tell), using his shadow powers, and the amount of running he'd done to even _get_ this far in Albuquerque, a nap sounded _really_ good.

He felt Will grip his shoulders again, the taller boy's hands even warmer than they'd been before.

All thoughts of sleep left his mind as wide shafts of soft silver light suddenly fell from the sky, surrounding each _empousa_ ; the light dissipated as each and every one of them dropped to the ground, completely out.

Nico heard what sounded like someone clambering down a drainpipe, and before he could make any sense of what had just happened, Mena stood before them, silver bow in hand.

"You looked like you could use a little backup," she addressed them, seemingly unharmed.

Nico rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply when Lou Ellen, Cecil on her back the same way she'd carried Nico before, emerged from the alleyway.

"We all good? _Empousai_ down? Let's get out of here before they wake up," she panted, her chest heaving with every breath.

In lieu of spitting out the comeback on the tip of his tongue, Nico simply nodded and summoned Jules-Albert. The chauffeur was quick to pull up next to them, and the group piled into the limo as fast as they could.

Once Jules-Albert had received word of their destination, he sped off down the road, leaving the five teenagers inside to catch their breath.

"Ugh, that was the _worst_ ," Cecil complained, patting the bandage on his neck. "You could say it… _sucked_."

Lou Ellen smacked him upside the head.

"So, what's the news?" Will asked, stretching his arms out along the back of his seat. "Did we find what we were looking for?"

"We found Endymion," Nico replied, laying face-down in the elongated seat near the front of the car. "And some other shit happened."

"Gee, thanks for all the details, Death Boy."

"Shut your face. I'm exhausted."

"Speaking of _details_ ," Lou Ellen chirped, "I believe di Angelo has a _lot_ of explaining to do. Don't you, Nico?"

He loudly groaned into the plush cushion below him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Holy shit you guys I am SO SORRY this took so long to get out. I've not been in the best mental state in the past month, but I'm better now. Life kind of happened, etc.

It seems like every time I write a new chapter I say that it was going to be longer. This time is no exception, as I had to cut my original plans for it in half because my narrative got away from me again and before I knew it I was at 4500 words OTL Also, depending on who you ask, Morpheus (and, by extension, the other Oneiroi) is stated as either a child of Hypnos or a child of Nyx. I went with the latter for obvious reasons.

So yeah, enjoy. I promise it won't take a month for the next chapter to come out.

(By the way, was anyone at A-Kon in Dallas last weekend? Because I cosplayed Nico on the Saturday and had a blast. :D)


	12. The Healer's Hands

**A/N:** Got a couple of things to address here.

1) This fic is now being beta'd by my lovely moirail Mouse, who asks the _real_ questions here and she is awesomeballs

2) Something that I unfortunately can't show here on the FFNet version of this story is artwork. I'd been wanting to do illustrations for this fic ever since I started planning it out, and I only just recently found enough drawing mojo to actually follow up on that. I'm slowly going in and drawing at least one thing for every chapter, and so far I've gotten up to chapter three, which you can see on either the AO3 version (username is _lunardance_ ), or on my Tumblr ( _lunarwings_ ) under the "solverse things" tag. :D I'm hoping I can get myself caught up by the time I get the next chapter out.

3) Lastly, content warning for mass anxiety and derealization toward the end of this chapter. Stay safe. It's time to get really messy.

* * *

As they left Albuquerque, Nico told them everything.

He started with their most recent discovery: they had a deadline. When that deadline was, he wasn't entirely sure - he only had the pain in his shoulder to use as a reference - but now it was more clear than ever that there was no time to lose, especially since their resurrection quest had now expanded to include Selene in addition to Helios.

He recited the two lines of prophecy that Endymion had given them; with the new information they'd received, it was obvious that the new lines were connected to the first portion.

 _When one sun falls, another shall rise_ _  
_ _A long lost legacy to ignite the skies_

 _The full moon fades, her dying light_ _  
_ _Relinquished to the Eternal Night_

Nobody had any idea whether or not there was more to it, but there was no doubt about who the two segments were referring to.

So, with that out of the way, Nico forced himself to recount his past nightmares to the rest of the group.

Watching the sun from the top of his cabin, and seeing it explode before his very eyes. His surroundings fading into complete darkness, the shards of sunlight piercing through his skin. The shadows coming for him, beckoning him to unite with them, to become the darkness itself.

Seeing his father in that same pitch-black void, hearing about Nyx for the first time; the goddess of Night taking advantage of Apollo's punishment by spreading her darkness as far as possible in the absence of a solar deity. Hades hadn't even been able to _say her name_. Nico had already spoken of this during their rendezvous with the Hunters of Artemis, but the reason he'd had the panic attack back then… well, he saved that for when it became more relevant.

The dream that he'd had after escaping from the Keres, the first time he'd seen Nightmare Knoll: all of his questmates had fallen, their blood soaking into the ground beneath. (The part where he'd found a fatally injured Will and _begged_ him not to die, losing complete control of his emotions and powers when the blond's eyes grew dull and his heartbeat faded - that part was better kept to himself, for now.)

And then, the encounter with Moros.

That had been when the true dangers of their mission had been revealed to him. He recounted their conversation, their battle; _to break with destiny is to re-introduce Chaos into the world_ , the daimon had said.

Nico could physically _feel_ the level of fear rising in the car.

His friends reacted with terror and disbelief as he told them of the possibility of Chaos rising, of everything becoming consumed by the Void, of Moros stabbing him in the shoulder and "implanting" that doomsday timer within him. And when he finished, that tension transformed into anger.

He knew it was wrong of him to keep everything from them. But confessing all of this, revealing the deep, dark fears that he'd hidden away in his mind, was so taxing on his nerves that by the time he was done, his throat had constricted so much that he could barely get another word out. Nico felt so exposed, like he was giving too much of himself away; he hated himself for even feeling _that much_ , for being selfish enough to keep everything bottled up.

Cecil and Lou Ellen both glared at him with a ferocity that he'd never seen in either of them before, not even during the battle for Camp Half-Blood. It was jarring coming from them, as they were usually cutting up and making jokes with each other.

Mena's only reaction was to get up from her seat and push past the others, climbing into the front part of the limo and closing the partition. Nico shrank into himself even further when he realized that he could no longer isolate himself in there like he'd been highly considering.

And Will… looked more _sad_ than anything else. He said nothing, instead turning to gaze out the window of the car, watching the street lamps pass by.

Nico took this as his cue to mentally check out, and as he curled up in his seat, part of him hoped that he wouldn't wake up.

* * *

"...but he's the only one who can tell how much time we have left."

Regrettably, Nico woke up.

"Somewhere in Arizona, I guess? Haven't seen a city marker for miles."

For a moment, he thought that he was still asleep, having fallen into a dream. But the more lucid he became, the more he could tell that this wasn't true.

Shifting a bit, he lifted his gaze to the partition behind him. He could see a dim light peeking through around the edges, and his ears strained to pick up on the soft voice that was just barely filtering through.

"It's hard to say. There's no telling how much time we'll waste while in the Lotus. Hopefully we can get in and out and be done with it, but that depends on if the demigods get _sidetracked_ or not."

Mena seemed to be having a conversation with someone - probably through an Iris Message - but whoever was on the other end was muffled by static. Nico didn't really care about that so much as what the Hunter herself was saying.

"Yeah, I remember. She and her brother had been there before, she mentioned it when we stayed at Half-Blood."

She was referring to Bianca.

"That's an understatement. He had a complete meltdown in Atlanta when we learned we had to go there. That place is a cesspool so I can see why he wouldn't want to go there, but _di immortales_ he was so damn dramatic about it. I can see why-" Pause. "Yes, of course, sorry."

Nico felt a burst of anger flare up in the pit of his stomach. Who did she think she _was_ , smack-talking him to someone else like that?

He heard Mena heave a sigh. "...I don't know. I really don't. I'll be surprised if I can even make it to the Lotus, at this rate. It gets harder and harder every day. … I'd better go. I don't want to risk anyone waking up and hearing. … Yeah. I'll let you know. Goodbye."

Even though he'd only heard half of the conversation, he could tell that something fishy was going on. He'd suspected it from the moment he'd met Mena. _She's lying about something,_ he thought to himself, _she has to be._ Who had she been talking to? What did she mean by "the demigods", and _how dare she_ bring up him and Bianca?!

There was a piece of his mind with her name on it, but for now, he was too emotionally and physically drained to do anything about it.

Rubbing at his eyes, Nico turned onto his back before sitting up in his seat. Now that Mena's conversation had died down, the entire car was silent - he could see Lou Ellen and Cecil huddled up under a blanket, fast asleep, head resting on head resting on shoulder.

"Hey…"

Nico jumped a little at the voice, turning his head to meet Will's eyes. "Hey," he croaked in response, glancing away as soon as their gazes met.

Will frowned and scooted closer to him. "You okay?"

"As 'okay' as I _can_ be for someone stuck in a car with a bunch of people who are pissed off at him," Nico replied, curling his knees up toward his chest and crossing his arms on top of them.

"I'm not mad at you."

"Bullshit."

"I'm _not,_ Nico. I understand why you kept the… the whole _Chaos thing_ from us, I do."

Will's voice was quiet and soft; Nico couldn't detect a single trace of insincerity in his words. Hesitantly, he lifted his gaze back to Will's. "Do you?"

Will nodded, his expression heavy with concern. "Yeah. We're… all of us are stressing out over this quest. You, me, Cecil and Lou, even Mena, from what little I can tell of her." He dropped his head back against the seat, staring up at the limo's ceiling. "We knew from the beginning that it was going to be a huge undertaking. I mean… resurrecting a faded god? I didn't think it was possible. Part of me still doesn't."

He let out a short, humorless laugh. "And then, to find out that not only do we have to bring back Helios _and_ Selene, but learning that we have a deadline - like, every quest has one, I don't know why it's so surprising - but that deadline could mean the end of everything as we know it…"

He turned his head so that he could look Nico in the eye again. "I get it, dude. I would've done the same thing, to be honest. You didn't want to worry us any further since we had so much on our plate already. Right?"

Nico bit his lip and swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before giving him a short nod. Will had basically explained the entire thought process he'd had regarding his decision to keep everything hidden.

It was almost scary how easily the son of Apollo could get a read on him, but at the same time, it was strangely comforting.

Will adjusted himself so that he was fully facing Nico. "So, yeah, I'm not mad at you. I'm actually really worried."

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. "About?"

"Lou told me that you've been shadow traveling. I could sense it when you ran into me back at the lot with the _empousai_." Will's voice was still calm, but Nico could see that familiar glint in his eye - the one that usually accompanied the words 'doctor's orders'. "Not to mention that shoulder of yours. It hurts even outside of your dreams? You should've come to me the first time it happened."

"I couldn't even tell if it was real, Solace," Nico protested, running a hand through his bangs. "I thought it might've been, I don't know, a physical hallucination? Like, a pain that someone who's lost an arm thinks they can still feel, a phantom pain."

"I'd maybe believe that if it was a one-off thing, but Lou said it happened during _and_ after your dream with Morpheus."

"Lou talks too much."

Will rolled his eyes. "Let me take a look at it, at least. I might be able to find the source of the pain."

Nico straightened himself out and lowered his arms to his side, not caring enough to argue it. "Okay, whatever. Knock yourself out."

"I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt."

"And why is that?"

"So I can see if there's a wound or bruising or anything, smartass."

"Fine." With a harsh scowl, Nico pulled his hoodie off and discarded it before tugging his arms out of his t-shirt, keeping the fabric looped around his neck. He turned his back to Will so that the healer could have better access to his shoulder; Nico could feel the heat rising to his face as he gathered his jacket in his arms, a bit embarrassed at the exposure.

A chill ran up and down the length of his spine the second Will's warm hands touched his skin. "The skin looks perfectly fine," he said, delicately prodding the taut muscles. "I don't see any kind of bruising at all, no signs of damage…"

Nico felt his neck burning as Will spread his palm against the back of his shoulder. "Not even internally," he quietly muttered after a moment. "I can't detect _any_ damage to the muscle tissue, not even anything in the bones. None whatsoever."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope, I'm serious as a heart attack. As far as my abilities can tell, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your shoulder."

Nico stiffened as he felt Will's thumbs begin to rub small circles into his back. "What are you doing?"

"You're _ridiculously tense_ , di Angelo. I'm surprised you haven't spontaneously combusted yet."

"What is that supposed to me-" Nico's words suddenly cut off, ending in an embarrassingly deep moan as Will's fingers kneaded at a particularly tough spot.

Will chuckled from behind him, pressing harder at that same spot. "How does that feel?"

Nico let his head drop down toward his chest, feeling himself melt under the touch. "Like you just pushed my OFF button. Holy _shit_."

He could sense Will's satisfied smirk. "Just relax. Tell me about your shoulder, how exactly does it feel when it starts to hurt?"

"Remember when you got jabbed in the leg during Capture the Flag a couple weeks ago - _oh gods, right there_ \- basically imagine that but if the blade had gone completely through. Now consider it happening again, getting more and more painful each time."

"Yikes," Will replied, his touch moving down along Nico's spine.

 _Gods of Olympus_ , his hands were so warm. The longer they traveled over Nico's cool skin, the more he could feel their warmth spreading through his body; the more Will worked his deft fingers, the more the tired muscles beneath them relaxed. Nico could have fallen asleep right then and there, if he'd wanted to.

How had he become so _okay_ , so _comfortable_ with the healer's touch in such a short amount of time? If this had been anyone else - with the exception of Hazel and possibly Reyna - then he would've immediately shrugged their hands off and built a barricade between them. But this was _Will;_ his fingers left Nico's skin tingling in their wake, and the sensation was so unfamiliar yet so _pleasant_ that he had to restrain himself from arching his back into the touch.

If Nico could just take that warmth and wrap it around himself like a blanket, then maybe he would never have another nightmare again.

He was glad that Will couldn't see the look of disappointment on his face as the blond patted his shoulder and pulled his hands away. "There you go. Feel any better?"

Nico was quick to pull his shirt back down over his shoulders. "... Yeah, actually." He gave his shoulders an experimental roll, letting out a short sigh at how much more fluid the movement felt.

"That's good," Will replied quietly from behind him.

Nico had started to turn and face him again, but a warm pressure on the nape of his neck caused him to pause. A look over his shoulder showed him that Will had leaned forward again, pressing his forehead into the tip of his spine. "Solace?"

A hand gripped at the back of his shirt. It didn't take long for Nico to realize that said hand was trembling.

His curiosity piqued, Nico slowly turned his body around so that he was facing his friend. He took the quivering hand between both of his own and ducked his head down to meet Will's eyes.

"Will? You okay?"

The son of Apollo had his eyes squeezed shut, and his fingers curled themselves around Nico's as he took a deep breath, then released it slowly.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he replied, lifting his head.

Their gazes locked together, and Nico felt his breath hitch at the look of sheer _vulnerability_ reflected in those deep blue eyes.

He pursed his lips. "Yeah, okay, and I'm Chaos itself. Tell me what's wrong."

Will averted his eyes and bit down on his lip. He let out another deep breath before speaking. "I'm scared, Nico. I'm just… really scared."

"Of?"

"A lot of things. Where this quest is going to take us, whether or not I'm going to be able to protect everyone." Will closed his eyes again, pressing his forehead against Nico's. "Even after everything we've already learned, we're still no closer to finding out how to raise Helios… or defeat Nyx, if it's even possible. Like, we defeated Gaea, yeah, but between the five of us… no offense to the others, but you and Mena are really the only ones who are any good at combat. Cecil and Lou know how to fight, but their skills are more suited to behind-the-scenes stuff, like how we disabled those onagers."

Nico was too focused on his words - not to mention how _close_ they were - to notice how Will had started idly playing with his bony fingers.

"And, well," he let out a terse chuckle, "you know how good _I_ am at fighting."

"Don't do that, Solace."

Will blinked, glancing back up. "Do what?"

Nico met his gaze with a stern, serious one of his own. "You're selling yourself short again. Don't do that."

"I'm just stating the obvious, Nico-"

"The _obvious_ is that you're starting to find your own sort of strength. You remember back in D.C., when we fought Dolos and Apate? That was the first time you did the lighty thing, and it almost incapacitated them long enough for us to escape. Not to mention those _light arrows_ you pulled on the _empousai_. How did you even come up with that one?"

Will pulled himself away a bit, dropping Nico's hand to stare down at his own. "Well, I… I kind of just…" He formed a small ball of light between his fingers. "I lost most of my regular arrows to the _empousai_ , so I kinda just… made one out of light, and…" He pulled the light out, tugging it into a straight line, then released it like a tiny arrow. " _Pchoo._ "

Nico's eyes followed the light as it shot out into the darkness of the limousine, splitting off into several tiny beams that quickly evaporated in the poor lighting.

"They're not made for killing, though, I already know that much. They can only wound or stun," Will continued, settling his hands in his lap.

Nico bit his lip as he met Will's eyes again. "You never know, that may be all we need."

Will was searching for something in his gaze, Nico could tell that much. He didn't seem to be any more reassured than before, but… there was something about his expression that Nico couldn't quite pinpoint. Whatever it was, it was having a profound effect on him: he could feel his pulse racing, his heart pounding against his chest like it was trying to break out of its bony prison. The skeletal butterflies stirred.

In that moment, Nico forgot that they were in a car, en route to one of the _last_ places he ever wanted to return to. He forgot that they were there because of a quest to raise the sun before Chaos, the Void, the Creator, emerged to consume the existence of all. He forgot about fading into the shadows, about Tartarus, about Gaea and Kronos and the Labyrinth and…

In that moment, Will was all there was.

The silence between them was broken when Will inhaled deeply and began to speak again. "Nico, I-"

The sound of the partition sliding open cut him off mid-sentence, and Nico felt himself deflate as he turned to glare at the interruption.

"Hey, guys," Mena greeted, leaning into the back of the limo, "I hate to interrupt, but I think we've got a problem."

* * *

"I can't fucking believe this. This shouldn't even be _possible!_ "

There was no logic behind it. With a zombie chauffeur and a car that was capable of traveling through shadows, it really made no sense as to why said car was suddenly broken down on the side of the desert road they'd been on for the last few hours.

And yet, here they were.

Nico paced back and forth as the group stood a short distance away. "We don't have _any time_ to be _stranded in the desert_ right now!"

"Complaining about it isn't going to get it fixed any faster, di Angelo," Mena replied, rolling a few marbles between her fingers as she leaned against a nearby boulder.

"Kinda makes you wish we had a Hephaestus kid here," Will commented, shuffling back and forth on his feet. "Leo probably would've been able to fix it right away. It'd be nice if he kind of just, y'know, randomly showed up out here or something."

Nico rolled his eyes, though inwardly, he was wishing for the same thing to happen. "We're not lucky enough for _that_ to happen, Solace." He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he moved toward the front of the car, where Cecil was halfway buried under the hood, Jules-Albert grunting as he pointed to various parts inside. "How's it going, Markowitz?"

"Dude, I've never seen a car like this before in my _life_ , so it's going about as well as you'd expect," Cecil replied, straightening himself up. He was covered in oil marks. "Besides, I'm usually better at messing things up than I am at fixing them. Why am I the one that's gotta get my hands dirty?"

Nico threw his hands up in frustration. "I don't know, you're a Hermes kid, your dad is literally the god of travel. I figured you'd be the most likely to know this kind of thing."

"Well, as far as I can tell, nothing's wrong with the engine or anything." Cecil shrugged at him, as if saying _them's the breaks, kid._ "Maybe it's just out of juice. What does it even run on, anyway? Styx water? I dunno what kind of service stations they're running down there in the Underworld, but we could really use an undead grease monkey or something, like, that'd be a big help right now."

Heaving a groan, Nico hung his head backward as he returned to where the others were standing. "Right, well, looks like we're going to be walking for a while."

" _Excuse me?_ " Lou Ellen quipped, stifling a yawn. "I don't think it's in our best interests to just walk through the desert, in the middle of the night, especially when we have no clue where we even _are_."

"Hopelessly lost is where we are," Cecil replied as he joined the group, holding a large map between his hands. "We should've been in Vegas _hours_ ago, like, I think we got mixed up somewhere around Flagstaff 'cause if we'd stayed on I-40, then we would've been there in like four hours. Damnit. I knew we should've taken that left turn at Albuquerque."

Nico just stared at him blankly as Will let out an amused chuckle, Lou Ellen stifling her own by burying her face in his shoulder. "What's so funny?" Nico asked, turning to glare at them.

"Nothing, nothing," Will replied, waving off his question with a smirk on his face. "Looney Tunes reference. I'll show you when we get back to camp."

Giving the blond a scowl, Nico turned back to Cecil. "So, what does that mean? Where are we now?"

" _Weeeell_ … considering we passed through _Phoenix_ roughly two hours ago and ended up on I-8… I'd say we're probably headed toward Yuma, aka East Jesus Nowhere."

When Cecil held the map up to show Nico where they likely were, the temperature dropped very, _very_ quickly.

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you mean to tell me," he started, his voice completely level, "that we have traveled three hundred _fucking_ miles," shadows began to creep up around his legs as his voice grew progressively louder, "in the _wrong_. _Gods-damned. DIRECTION?!_ "

Cecil shrunk back as a burst of darkness erupted around the son of Hades, small cracks in the ground opening around the group. When he spoke again, his voice was several octaves higher. "Um. Maybe?"

To say that Nico was _beyond livid_ would've been an understatement. If it weren't for Will suddenly clasping a hand on his shoulder, Nico probably would've created a new fault line right then and there.

"Cool it, Death Boy, it's not Cecil's fault," Will cut in.

"He's right," Mena added, dropping her marbles back into their pouch. "What we should be worrying about now is how we're going to get back on track. Lou Ellen is correct in that walking wouldn't be the safest way to go, but right now it's our only option."

Nico took in several deep breaths to calm himself down. "Or, you know, I _could_ just shadow travel us."

"Or you could _not_ ," Will protested.

"Yeah man, Vegas is like three hundred miles from here," Cecil choked out, his voice returning to normal as he looked at his map again. "Right now, the closest town - and I use that term _very_ loosely - is Ligurta. There's nothing noteworthy there except for a restaurant and a bus stop, but if we keep going north past Ligurta, then we'll hit the Gila River. We can just follow that north until we get to Route 95, which should take us straight to Vegas. It's about twelve miles. That's do-able, right?"

Nico buried his face in his palm. "Well yeah, that's _nothing_ , but we don't have _time_ to walk the _entire way_ to Las V-"

"Oh, _gross_ , what is that _smell?_ " Lou Ellen suddenly cut in, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

The rest of the group paused, took a second to sniff around, and reacted similarly.

Cecil pinched his nose shut. "Gah, did something _die_ over here?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Will squeaked, pulling the collar of his shirt up over his nose.

Even behind the silver glow - the mark of the Hunters - Mena's face looked a bit green. "Disgusting," she murmured, "it smells like rotting flesh…"

Nico felt a bit queasy. The odor seemed to be growing stronger by the second. But Mena was right, that's _exactly_ what it smelled like, and he had a pretty good idea of where it was coming from.

He walked over to where Jules-Albert was standing, near the edge of the highway. The chauffeur was limply holding one arm up in some sort of wave, while his other hand held what looked like a heavily corroded cellphone to his ear.

He appeared to be flagging someone down. In the distance, Nico could just barely make out a figure approaching on a bicycle. Once it drew close enough for him to identify it, he raised his eyebrows in enlightenment.

"Ugh, it's Eurynomos."

" _Who?_ " Lou Ellen squeaked.

The figure slowed its bicycle until it came to a complete stop, then shakily dismounted. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a zombie, but nowhere near as composed as Jules-Albert; its skin was a muted blue-black color, and it wore a cloak made of a vulture's hide over a dirty pair of overalls. It was surrounded by flies, and maggots seemed to drip from every orifice.

"He's basically my father's janitor. Friendly son of Nyx," Nico explained, "he's the daimon of… well, rotting corpses. He strips the flesh from the bones of dead bodies and then gets to eat the flesh in exchange. Pretty nice guy, but you definitely don't want to have him over for dinner."

"So what is he doing _here?_ " Cecil asked.

Nico stayed quiet as he watched the two zombies interact - which primarily consisted of assorted grunts and groans. "I think he's going to fix the car. Which means we should probably start walking. Who knows how long it's going to take."

Will held a hand to his mouth as he returned to the group after having to go be sick behind Mena's boulder. "Please. Anything to get away from… _this_."

For once, there was something they all could agree on.

* * *

After making a quick pitstop in Ligurta, the group continued making their way north. As they drew further and further away from the small community, however, it became increasingly apparent that there would be less and less light for them to see by.

The faint glow that Mena emanated was barely enough to see two feet ahead of them, and the night sky above them was absolutely overflowing with stars. Still, it was difficult to see much of the landscape around them - the tall hills and mesas in the distance were only distinguishable by their black shadows blocking the stars from view.

A thick fog of silence permeated the surrounding area. The only indication that the five of them _weren't_ the only living beings on the planet were the occasional howls of coyotes in the distance.

"It's quiet," Cecil muttered as they walked, " _too_ quiet."

Lou Ellen groaned and whapped him on the head. "And now that you've said _that_ , something is definitely going to crawl out of the woodwork and attack us."

"Surprised it hasn't already happened, to be honest," he countered, rubbing at his head. "But seriously, it's quiet. And dark. Solace, can you shed some light on this?"

"Heh. Nice pun," Will replied from his spot toward the front of the group. "I dunno, though. I would think that'd only draw attention to us."

Nico rolled his eyes as the two of them bantered back and forth, Lou Ellen quipping in every so often. He glanced over at Mena who simply shrugged and shook her head, as if saying _what can you do?_

Eventually, Will caved in, waving off Cecil and Lou Ellen. "Alright, _alright_ , geez. But if we get attacked then I'm blaming you two."

He stopped walking and extended both arms, and Nico watched as that familiar ball of light formed between Will's palms. Compared to the first time he witnessed this, the son of Apollo seemed much more relaxed - like it came to him completely naturally.

The glowing orb steadily grew larger and larger until it was about the size of a basketball, and Will pushed it upwards so that it hung over them like a lantern. Immediately, the surrounding area seemed to brighten up a bit, some of the dimmest stars in the sky fading behind the light.

Nico's eyes shifted between Will and the orb. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.

"Is that better?" he asked, turning back to the others.

Cecil and Lou Ellen looked mesmerized. "Yes, a thousand times better!"

Fortunately, as they continued on, everything seemed fine. Cecil continued his attempt to make conversation by reciting a few anecdotes from Camp - apparently, one time the Stoll brothers had somehow managed to dye the hair of the entire Apollo cabin; Will's had been turned bubblegum pink and he'd been perfectly okay with that.

The two of them had been in the middle of recounting a particularly nasty game of Capture the Flag, wherein the Aphrodite cabin had ended up cursing the whole Ares cabin with permanent makeup, when Mena suddenly stopped, extending an arm out in front of the others.

"Something's coming this way," she rasped as she plucked the crescent-shaped barrette out of her hair, transforming it into her silver bow. "Look. In the distance."

Sure enough, there appeared to be a small cluster of lights on the horizon; as they drew closer, they erratically wove in and out of each other, taking on more of a fireball-like appearance.

Will turned around to glare at Cecil and Lou Ellen again as he drew his own bow. "So, can I start blaming you two yet, or?"

Cecil rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "M-Maybe they're friendly!"

"Great, just what we need," Nico drawled sarcastically, " _friendly_ balls of fire. Taking bets now on whether or not they're daimons."

The fireballs seemed to slow down as they approached the group, and once they entered the light created by Will's orb, their true forms became apparent. There were four of them: beautiful roan-colored horses with golden eyes, billowing flames taking the place of their manes and tails.

Nico stared at them for a moment, trying to determine if they were here to help or harm - after all he'd seen just on this quest alone, random flaming horses appearing out of nowhere seemed to be just a little bit on the _weird_ side. Maybe they had fangs, maybe their hooves were actually blades that could dismember any of them in a split-second. Maybe they breathed fire. He didn't know, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

He was surprised, however, when Will stepped forward as if he were in a trance. He stared straight ahead and extended an arm, reaching out to touch one of the horses.

Nico started forward in case the horse decided to revolt, but all it did in response was bend its head forward to gingerly nuzzle at Will's hand.

" _Aethons_ ," he muttered as he stroked at the horse's snout, drawing a quiet whinny from the animal.

"The steeds of Helios," Mena added. "Your light must have summoned them to us. They were the ones who pulled the original sun chariot."

"Sooooo they _are_ friendly?" Lou Ellen asked, cautiously approaching one herself.

" _Score!_ " Cecil shouted, punching the air.

The _aethon_ that Will was petting suddenly turned its head, as if gesturing toward its back. "I… think they want us to ride them? It'd be a lot faster than walking, that's for sure."

Nico watched skeptically as Will heaved himself up onto the _aethon's_ back, seemingly unharmed by the flames. "Yeaahhh, I'm not sure how that's supposed to work, Solace."

"What do you mean?" Will raised an eyebrow at him. "The fire's not gonna hurt you, dude. I would've burned up already if it was dangerous."

"It's not that," Nico replied, watching as Cecil, Lou Ellen, and Mena claimed the other three _aethons_. "Animals don't like me because I smell like death."

Will rolled his eyes, offering him a hand. "Just get on, Death Boy, I'm pretty sure they're not gonna mind one small son of Hades if he's got an Apollo kid vouching for him."

Nico pouted at him, but took the offered hand anyway. "I'm not _that_ small. And how many times have I told you to _stop calling me that?_ "

* * *

 _Aethons_ , as it turned out, were _really fast_.

Once everyone got situated on their backs, they took off in the same direction they'd come from, blazing a trail along the banks of the Gila River.

Nico, to his recollection, had only ridden on a horse once: when a group of pegasi had come to help carry himself, Reyna, Coach Hedge, and the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood. His memory of that experience had been fuzzy at best, given that he'd been unconscious for three days prior to the arrival of the pegasi.

Those pegasi had nothing on the _aethons_.

To his embarrassment, he'd had to tightly hold on to Will as the horses carried them along the river at a speed that would've put Jules-Albert's past as an auto racer to shame. He wasn't even sure how the others were even staying on their respective _aethons_ , given the flames and the fact that there didn't seem to be any kind of reins to hold on to.

Fortunately, however, they started slowing down as a small town surrounded by vast hills came into view. Truthfully, "small town" was greatly overstating it; there were maybe three battered, worn-down buildings, and not a single soul seemed to be around.

Nico was uncomfortable.

He'd been in plenty of these ghost towns before, but there was something about this one in particular, as well as the hills that lay beyond, that made a very strange feeling start boiling in his chest. Somehow, their surroundings didn't seem fully real to him - or, at the very least, they didn't feel like part of this world or any other. A nagging sense of familiarity bubbled up in his mind, but it was quickly eclipsed by one sensation in particular that stood out like a sore thumb.

Somebody had died here. Somebody important.

As the _aethons_ drew closer to the hills beyond the town, he could see that the hills weren't exactly hills at all, but _enormous_ piles of garbage.

"Dang, look at all this stuff," Cecil commented as he hopped off of his horse. "There's all kinds of weapons and stuff in here. It'd be sweet if we could bring some of this back to Camp with us."

Mena, who had dropped down from her own steed, shook her head as she bent down to pick up a crescent-shaped hairpin identical to her own. "Not a good idea," she observed, her voice taking on an unusually somber tone. "There's a reason why somebody threw all of this away. Damaged chariots, broken appliances, all of this scrap metal… it's all defective somehow."

A small shower of sparks erupted from one of the nearby trash piles, and Lou Ellen leaped away, looking a bit sheepish. "I'm sorry! I saw one of those old-timey cassette recorders and I just had to try it out. Technology in the 90's sure was something."

The recorder sat there and steamed for a moment before suddenly powering itself on, multiple LED lights starting to glow. It seemed to be playing something back, but through the static, it was tough to decipher.

 _A… da- as- s… at- eath…_ _  
_ _… bri- orl-... nal dea-..._

Lou Ellen gave the device a solid _whack_ , and the next playback came out much clearer, in an unnervingly familiar voice.

 _A darkness ascends, with bated breath_ _  
_ _To bring the world to its final death_

"That's Eos' voice," Will observed, dismounting his _aethon_. He took a moment to help Nico down before wandering over to Lou Ellen. "It's got to be part of the prophecy. 'The final death'... that refers to Chaos, right Nico?"

Nico couldn't answer. As soon as he'd hit solid ground again, the feeling of anxiety grew exponentially.

"Nico?" Will tried again.

That sensation of derealization was overwhelming, now; there was an enormous pile of bronzed scrap metal acting as the centerpiece of the entire junkyard. Nico's vision tunneled around it as he drew closer to the heap. There were yards upon yards of what appeared to be telephone wire weaving through the hunks of metal, but Nico's only focus was on one small portion of the pile that he shouldn't have even seen from that distance.

He could hear his friends in the background calling his name, but they sounded far away and static-y just as the cassette recorder had sounded. He felt light touches on his shoulder, but he paid them no mind as he drew closer and closer to the mound of metal.

His ears were ringing. His pulse raced faster than it ever had before. His breaths came quick and shallow.

Once he was within an arm's length of the scrap heap, Nico reached into it, his hand curling around some kind of fabric. With a strong pull, the fabric ripped away from the sharp metal corners it had been tangled up in, and as he got a good look at the silver tatters that had long since lost their luster, a voice began screeching from within the depths of his mind.

 _Her_ voice.

Bianca.

His throat constricted so painfully that he couldn't breathe he couldn't draw in any air he could feel himself choking on his own tears it couldn't be this couldn't be happening this had been the exact spot where she'd died this was _the remains of her jacket_ that he was clutching in his hands he gripped the fabric desperately as if it were his only lifeline this wasn't real this wasn't real _this wasn't happening this wasn't real_

and the last thing he heard

before his entire world swirled together

was the sound of his own voice

screaming her name


	13. The Torturous Truth

**A/N:** Whoooooo okay. Some things to note, before y'all get into this Emotion Bomb:

a) I've been looking at what I've plotted out and I've decided that I'll cap it off at an even 20 chapters,  
b) I've finished drawings up to chapter 7 (though one more for 4 and 7 is in the works at this time), so y'all might wanna check those out on the AO3 version of this fic *bats eyelashes at all of you*,  
and c) Content warning for heavy angst and mental breakdowns in this one. Grab your tissues, you've been warned.

Credit to Uncle Rick for the Titan's Curse excerpts I used here, of course.

* * *

When he next opens his eyes, everything tunnels around him as if he's watching through a fisheye lens.

He's in the junkyard again, but the moon hangs bright and beautiful in the sky, so now he can see the junk piles much more clearly: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleam gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

He feels his lips move, but the voice that comes out isn't his.

" _Whoa,_ " _her_ voice says, " _that stuff… some of it looks like real gold._ "

Oh.

 _Oh_.

" _It is,_ " another familiar voice sounds from nearby. His vision turns toward the source, and Thalia Grace comes into view. " _Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods._ "

Several feet away, Grover Underwood picks up a beautiful broken crown and takes a bite out of it, and Thalia is quick to admonish him for it.

" _Look,_ " he feels Bianca say again. She races down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. He sees her hands reach for a bow that glows silver in the moonlight. " _A Hunter's bow!_ " The bow shrinks and becomes a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon - identical to the one that Mena always wears in her hair. " _It's just like Percy's sword!_ "

The voice of Zoe Nightshade comes next, instructing her to put the clip down and leave it - it's here for a reason, it's defective, it's cursed.

Something feels incredibly wrong.

His vision blurs.

…

When he's able to focus again, he can see another hill - this one much more vast and flat than the others, like a shining metal mesa. At one end is a line of thick metal columns, tightly wedged together.

" _They look like..._ "

" _Toes_ ," Grover helpfully supplies.

" _Really, really large toes._ "

…

The pile of scrap metal has started moving, coalescing into an enormous metal figure, as tall as a football field is long. The moonlight reflects off of its metallic form in an almost _malevolent_ manner, its joints creaking with rust as it draws its weapon and looms over the junkyard.

Distantly, he can hear Zoe and Thalia describe the beast - _Talos, one of Hephaestus' creations, but it can't be the original, it's too small it's a prototype it's defective_ \- but the words are a bit obscured by the sudden sound of Bianca's pulse throbbing in her head _in his head_ and he can feel a very very distinctive and familiar feeling settle over them both-

Guilt.

Accusations are being thrown around. _Someone took something. Who took something?_ But all he can think about is the guilt, the shame, the remorse. Had Bianca taken something? Or…

The group begins to run, his vision shaking with every step that Bianca takes. He feels his own heart racing alongside hers, is there any way they can escape? They have to, they _have_ to, Thalia and Zoe are fighting back, they _have_ to get out of there-

…

" _You took something,_ " Percy complains, " _that bow._ "

" _No_ ," Bianca denies. Her voice quivers nervously, he can _feel_ how frightened she is, how terrible she feels-

" _Give it back! Throw it down!_ "

" _I… I didn't take the bow! Besides, it's too late..._ "

" _What did. You take?_ "

He tries to yell out to Percy, tries to tell him that it isn't Bianca's fault, how _dare_ he accuse her of something like this? But his voice won't work, he can't make his sister form the words; all he can do is watch through her eyes as they tear down the hill only seconds before Talos' gigantic foot crashes down into the spot where they'd been hiding.

Talos towers over them, raising its sword. He can hear Grover playing a short melody through his pipes, sending a frenzy of downed power lines to wrap around the giant's legs. Sparks fly as Talos tries to free itself from the confines, and Percy calls to Bianca again.

She doesn't move. Her throat constricts painfully as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small metal figurine, a statue of a god - a statue of _their father_. " _It… it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have._ "

Oh, no. Oh no no _no_. He knows that statue, it's burned itself into his memory so deeply that he'd still remember it a hundred years later. Percy had presented him with that statue when he'd come back from the quest without Bianca, it was forever a reminder that _she had died_ , Percy had broken his promise, Percy let her die-

" _How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?_ "

He doesn't know whether it's him or Bianca that's trying not to cry.

She hesitantly tosses the figure to the ground on Percy's suggestion, to no avail.

…

" _Crazy idea time._ "

" _Anything._ "

Percy tells her about a maintenance hatch on the underside of Talos' foot. " _There may be a way to control the thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside._ "

" _How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed!_ "

" _Distract it._ _I'll just have to time it right._ "

" _No. I'll go._ "

Oh no. _No_ , Bianca, no, don't you even dare say that-

" _You can't. You're new at this! You'll die._ "

Listen to Percy, Bianca!

" _It's my fault the monster came after us_ ," she says. " _It's my responsibility. Here._ " She picks up the Hades statue and presses it into Percy's hand. " _If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him… tell him I'm sorry._ "

" _Bianca, no!"_

Bianca, no!

She charges toward Talos' left foot. There's a maelstrom of emotion whirling through her mind - _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I have to make this right, Nico, please forgive me_ \- and he feels it, this is it. This is where she chose to give her life in order to save the others. She made the decision to save them all - Percy, Grover, Thalia, Zoe, Annabeth, Artemis - by sacrificing herself in order to stop Talos.

He screams, he screams as loudly as he can at her to stop, turn back, you don't have to do this, there has to be another way, you can't leave me like this, Bianca, please don't-

…

She's inside of the machine now. With every step that Talos takes, her surroundings shake and rattle, threatening to knock her off of the maintenance ladder every time. Showers of sparks rain down on her as the rusty metal grinds together, but she holds on stubbornly as she continues to climb upward, aiming for the panel full of switches and buttons that she can see several meters away.

 _Nico…_

Bianca, please, there's still time to turn back and escape, don't do this.

 _I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry._

Please don't, please don't go.

 _I just wanted you to be safe. Stay at Camp Half-Blood, it's safe there, it's the safest place for demigods like us._

I was safe with you. You could've stayed at Half-Blood too, we could've stayed there together-

 _I want you to be able to grow up happy and healthy and find your independence. We both know that sooner or later you'd decide you didn't need me anymore._

I still need you, Bianca, I've _always_ needed you…

 _Please don't blame Percy for this, or Zoe. This is all on me. It was my decision to join the Hunters, my decision to take the figure back to you, my decision to stop Talos. If you need to blame anyone, then blame me._

I won't blame you, never again.

She reaches the switchbox, finally. There are all kinds of levers and dials and buttons, and she begins to prod them at random, unsure of what to do. Whatever she does, it seems to be working; Talos pauses in its movements, hesitating for a few long seconds before it starts to move again. She's making it dance, making it hit itself, and a sensation of satisfaction washes over her as maybe, just _maybe_ , she'll be able to stall Talos enough for the others to escape and give her time to deactivate it-

However, the machine becomes increasingly unstable, and the feeling of hope gives way to a crushing sense of doom.

 _I'm so sorry, Nico… I wish I could've seen you one last time._

Bianca!

 _I love you, fratellino._

 _Bianca!_

Static fills the air, Bianca's hair stands on end, and everything goes white until their screams are all that's left.

* * *

Nico's eyes snapped open, and he instantly shot up from his position on the ground.

He could still hear her voice in his head.

 _I love you, fratellino. I love you._

Taking in deep gasps of air, he wrapped his arms around himself, slowly rocking back and forth to try and calm his trembling body.

The image of Bianca inside of the machine wouldn't leave his mind, no matter what else he tried to think about. Even dragging his nails down the length of his arms, clawing small crescents into his pale skin, wasn't enough to block out the pain.

He could feel the hot tears making their way down his face, and he was sweating so profusely that his hair was all but plastered to his forehead and neck.

He needed some fresh air.

Finally lifting his head, Nico took a moment to survey his surroundings: he appeared to be in a tent of sorts, and someone had placed him into a makeshift bed. As far as he could tell, Will, Lou Ellen, and Cecil were all asleep, curled up under blankets of their own, though Mena didn't seem to be around.

Nico shakily pulled himself to his feet and headed for the tent's entrance. He had to get out of there before anyone woke up and saw him.

He could barely breathe, and the tears just wouldn't stop coming. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen - the events leading up to Bianca's death, seen through her eyes: coming into the junkyard, Talos awakening, the small Hades figurine that Bianca had grabbed _especially for him_ , Percy's plan that she had taken on herself, going inside of the machine, and then…

He'd reached his breaking point.

Upon stumbling out of the tent, he cast a glance around; the _aethons_ were still there, standing guard over their impromptu camp, and in front of the small campfire sat Mena, silently tracing patterns in the dry ground with her silvery marbles.

She stiffened and turned in his direction, though she seemed uncharacteristically subdued. Her expression turned to one of slight concern upon meeting his eyes. "Di Angelo? You okay, there?"

Nico turned away and wiped at his eyes. He was in no condition to deal with her - or anyone - at the moment, so instead of answering her, he turned and bolted as fast as he could.

He could hear her calling after him, but he didn't care; he had to get away, _away_ , someplace where nobody could see him like this. His nerves were on fire and he felt like all of the air had been punched out of his lungs, he needed to _scream_ and _cry_ and he needed to do it as soon as possible or else the shadows would swallow him whole.

Shadow travel didn't even occur to him as he ran and ran and ran, as fast as his legs could take him, to _anywhere_ , everywhere, nowhere, as far away as he could get.

Eventually, he burst through a small patch of trees, only to find himself on the banks of the Gila River. He continued his hasty escape across the shallows, only to trip and fall in the middle of the mostly-evaporated stream.

His knees and elbow hurt from where he'd fallen, and there was a sharp pain pulsing through his right ankle, but Nico couldn't find it in himself to care as he pushed himself into a kneeling position in the middle of the river.

He took a moment to stare up at the sky. With no light in the immediate vicinity, he could see the stars more clearly than ever before. The light and dark bands of the Milky Way were especially prominent, and more tears dripped from his eyes as he took in the sight, feeling smaller and more insignificant than he'd been in recent memory.

His vision blurred as more and more tears came, and the only thing he could do was clutch at his hair and _scream_.

The trees edging the banks of the river exploded into motion as a torrent of shadows burst from his small body, and what little water was in the river itself began to freeze over at the sudden drop of temperature.

Desperate sobs forced themselves out of Nico as he wailed at the top of his lungs. Why had this happened, why had they come here to this _fucking_ desert and this _fucking_ junkyard - no, _graveyard,_ why in the _fuck_ did he find that scrap of Bianca's Hunter jacket, and why in the _absolute fuck_ had that triggered those memories of Bianca's? He had been forced to watch and do nothing as she sacrificed herself in order to save Percy, Thalia, and the others from Talos, he had pleaded and pleaded and _begged_ her not to do it, why did he have to see that? Why was he still having these horrific nightmares?

" _What do you want with me?!"_ he screeched up at the sky, as if addressing Nyx herself. "This is fucking _bullshit_ and you have _no right_ to show that to me!"

There truly weren't any words for what he felt. Fury, rage, despair, anguish, pain, suffering - all of it was a complete understatement when it came to the emotions flowing through his body.

"Do you think this is _funny_ , seeing me suffer? Huh?! Do you gods _get off_ on this shit or something? 'Oh, look at this insignificant little demigod, let's see how much more we can make him hate himself and his life!' You find that fucking _funny?!_ "

He screamed and yelled and shouted until his throat grew sore and scratchy. The cyclone of shadows encircling him began to ebb away as his catharsis passed, and eventually he slumped over, defeated.

"Why?" he croaked, hugging himself again. "Why is it always me? Why can't they just leave me alone?" Nico hung his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "I don't want to live like this anymore… I'm so fucking tired of being _broken_. I'm just tired of _everything_ … I'm so, _so_ tired."

He sat there in silence for several long minutes, holding himself until the tears stopped coming.

It had been a while since the last time he debated on whether or not to get up. It was ridiculous how _exhausted_ he was, in all senses of the word - physically, mentally, emotionally. What was the point of all of this? Nyx was a primordial deity, on the same level as Gaea, though possibly even more dangerous; her power and beauty was said to be so exceptional that even Zeus himself feared her. Hades hadn't even been able to _say her name_.

The most frustrating part was that everything about this quest seemed to target him. He was the one singled out, he was the only one who had the nightmares, Moros had only contacted _him_ , _he_ had been the one to locate Endymion. _He_ was the one who held the most information about their mission, _he_ was the one carrying that burden for everyone else.

The weight of it was so heavy that he felt like he was being pushed back into Tartarus.

Wiping the lingering tears from his eyes, Nico finally pulled himself to his feet. The scrapes on his knees stung and his ankle was throbbing with pain, but he grit his teeth through it as he turned around and started retracing his steps, eyes focused on the shallow water below.

"Nico."

He stopped short at the sudden voice and lifted his head, tired brown eyes locking onto worried blue.

He was too tired to question why Will was standing there on the banks of the river. Part of him had almost expected it; undoubtedly, Mena had woken Will up and alerted him to the escape. Truthfully, Nico was the most curious about how much of his outburst Will had seen, if any at all.

"How long have you been there?" he rasped, voice hoarse from all of the screeching he'd done.

"A while," Will quietly replied.

He said nothing more after that, simply extending his hand out for Nico to take.

Hesitantly, Nico bit his lip and reached up to take the offered hand, gripping it tightly as he allowed Will to pull him ashore. But, naturally, it would be his luck that he'd slip on a spot of slimy mud - with his bad foot, of course - and go tumbling into the blond's arms.

He choked back a sob and gripped at Will's shirt, not even caring about the sudden closeness.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, it's okay, I've got you," Will softly assured, carefully pulling him upright and leading him to sit against a nearby tree.

Nico blinked back more tears as he stretched his legs out in front of him. The pain of his twisted ankle was nothing new to him, he's suffered through much, _much_ worse, but in that moment, Nico di Angelo was tired of pain. He was tired of suffering. Tired of the aches, tired of the torment, tired of the misery. He might as well have had his leg severed at the ankle, because he doubted it would make much difference to him at this point.

A soothing heat on his leg broke him out of his thoughts.

Will had taken a seat near his feet, and was now gently pressing his thumbs into the swollen flesh of Nico's ankle. His hands were glowing with a mellow golden light, and Nico could feel the warmth of Will's healing powers traveling up the length of his leg, leaving a pleasant tingle behind it. Before long, the pain faded away completely, and even the scrapes on his knees had stopped burning.

When Will was done, he moved to lean against the tree next to Nico, lightly pressing their shoulders together without a word.

Nico was grateful for the silence, as it gave him some time to collect his thoughts. But he was also _so_ grateful for Will - he didn't ask, didn't pry, he kept himself at a comfortable distance out of respect, but they were still touching just enough to let Nico know that he was there.

Will had been such a champion on this quest, in Nico's opinion. To be honest, Nico didn't think he would've dealt with all of this _half_ as decently, had Will not been there. Will was always concerned, sometimes to the point where it irritated Nico; Will was always checking on him, asking if he was alright; Will had been bending over backwards to try and comfort Nico the best he could, offering warmth, offering solace.

Solace: there couldn't have been a better name for someone so relentlessly kind and compassionate.

Maybe that was why Nico decided to start talking.

"I saw it, in my dream," he started hoarsely, "Bianca's death. Through her eyes."

He felt Will take a deep breath beside him, and took it as a signal to continue.

"That pile of scrap bronze, that I found that piece of- the shreds of her Hunter's jacket in… that's the remains of Talos, the junkyard guardian built by Hephaestus. It was only a prototype, though. And Bianca… she'd angered it by trying to take something from the junkyard. A Mythomagic figure, a small statue of Hades. For me. It was the last one I didn't have, and the last one I would ever get.

"When Percy came back from the quest without her… I blamed him for it. He'd promised to protect her, and he'd failed. But it wasn't his fault. Not really. I know that much now." Nico drew in a shuddering breath, curling his knees up toward his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "Percy had a plan for dealing with Talos. He was going to take care of it himself, but Bianca stopped him, saying she would do it instead. And that, right there… that was when I knew she'd signed her own death sentence.

"She'd gotten inside of the machine, Will. She'd tried to deter it from hurting Percy and the others, she'd tried to deactivate it, but-"

Nico felt another sob rise in his throat, cutting him off mid-sentence.

He could feel Will's eyes on him, could feel the blond shift beside him and drape an arm around his shoulders. Nico made no move to shrug him off.

"...I hated Percy. I hated him for breaking his promise and letting her die. I hated him for a long time, but-" His voice cracked. "But I… I hated myself the most, because I _loved_ Percy, too. Or I thought I did, at the time. Do you know what it feels like to hate _and_ love the person who let your sister, the only one you truly had, die? It sucks, Will. It really fucking sucks. I was so angry with myself for feeling that way, like I was- like I was _betraying_ Bianca's memory somehow by loving him…

"But it wasn't just that, no, I was already angry with myself when Bianca joined the Hunters anyway. I was _ten_ , Will, what do you think happens when you're ten and your sister decides to leave you for a group of immortal teenage girls? You start wondering if she left because of _you_ , because you were too much of a burden on her, because you were annoying and talked too much and liked stupid card games and _boys_ and- and I- I _drove her away_ -"

The tears had started falling again. Nico's arms dropped to circle around his waist instead as he felt himself break again, pained sobs forcing themselves out of his body.

Will's hand started rubbing warm, soothing circles into his back, but somehow, it wasn't enough. Nico found himself craving more of that warmth, more of that soft touch, and he turned himself around so that he could bury his face in Will's shoulder. Almost instantly, he felt Will's arms encircle him, one hand gently threading through his black hair, lightly massaging his scalp.

It still wasn't enough for him. He wanted that warmth, _needed_ that warmth to surround him completely, to lift some of the freezing despair that had settled in his chest.

Nico took a moment to shift around so that he was situated in Will's lap, clinging to his orange camp t-shirt. "I miss her so much," he wept, "even after this long. It's been _years_ and I still miss her every damn day of my life, Will, it's not _normal_ , I can't let her go-"

"It's perfectly normal," Will finally spoke up, murmuring into his ear. "You didn't get to say goodbye to her, right? You didn't get a chance to talk your feelings out with her, you didn't get closure. When someone leaves you and you don't _get_ that closure, then it sticks with you and eats at you from the inside."

Nico felt a warm hand cup his cheek, and he lifted his head to meet Will's eyes again.

Their faces were so close together that he could feel Will's hot breath on his lips. "Does that make sense?" the son of Apollo whispered, his hand sliding back to tangle in Nico's hair again.

Nico's breath hitched as he blinked the tears out of his eyes. The clear blue of Will's eyes seemed to engulf him completely, reminding him of the afternoon sky on a perfect, sunny day. There was something comforting in that thought, and he could feel the pinprick of tears behind his eyes finally begin to relent.

A thought flashed through his mind: if he tilted his head upwards, just a _little_ bit, then...

No, he shouldn't think about that right now.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Nico closed his eyes and slowly nodded. "It does," he croaked in response, pressing his face further into Will's shoulder. "I never… I summoned her ghost a few times, but I just… didn't get a chance to tell her everything. And now I'll never be _able_ to, because she chose to be reborn."

"I'm sorry," Will sighed into his ear, and then they both fell silent.

Nico didn't know how long they sat there after that. He was so emotionally spent that all he really wanted to do was sit there in Will's arms, let himself be rocked and petted, and listen to the quiet words of comfort slipping from Will's lips until everything was okay.

Eventually, Nico found himself unsuccessfully holding back a yawn, and he pulled himself away from Will and shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the sleepiness. There was no way he could go back to sleep now, not if he was going to have nightmares like _that_.

"We should get back to camp so you can rest," Will suggested, keeping a hand on his shoulder.

Nico rubbed at his eyes and shook his head again. "No, I- I don't want to go back to sleep. I can't, not after that dream…"

From the corner of his eye, he could see Will pursing his lips, the Doctor Look forming on his face.

But it was gone just as quickly. "Fair enough," Will conceded, "but when we get back, I want to try something, okay?"

Nico raised an eyebrow in response, but decided not to question it. "Okay."

He let Will help him to his feet - thankfully, the healing magic had worked wonders and his ankle no longer hurt - and kept a solid grip on his hand as they made their way past the trees and away from the river. He let Will help him up onto the _aethon_ that Will had taken in pursuit of him, this time situating him in the front, and he let himself lean back against Will's solid chest as the _aethon_ slowly and steadily made its way back toward their small campsite.

* * *

Mena was still sitting outside of the silver tent when they returned. She stood up to greet the two boys as they dismounted from their _aethon_ and began heading toward the tent.

"Is everything alright?" she asked softly.

"Yes," Nico replied, in complete sync with Will's "no".

The Hunter flicked her pale eyes between the two of them, seemingly paying no mind to the freckled arm draped over Nico's shoulders. "That tells me absolutely nothing."

Nico felt Will hesitate briefly before heaving a sigh. "Mena, I need to ask you a favor."

She quirked a platinum eyebrow. "What is it, Solace?"

"You remember that thing you did to help Lou calm down back when we escaped the Keres? The thing where you like… settled her mind enough that she could sleep, or whatever it was? I need you to do it for Nico, if you would."

Nico blinked and looked up at Will curiously, but truthfully, he didn't have it within himself to care about whatever moon magic he wanted Mena to pull out on him.

He felt a light squeeze on his shoulder, and he knew that Will must've sensed his wariness.

How did that boy always know exactly what to do to make him feel better?

Nico didn't think he'd ever figure that out.

To his surprise, Mena nodded in response and reached for Nico's hands, tugging him toward her. "Come, sit."

He let Mena and Will pull him over to the campfire, the three of them settling themselves on the ground a few feet away.

Mena reached into the pocket of her silver jacket, pulling out a small pouch. Keeping a firm yet gentle grip on Nico's hand, she tipped the pouch over, spilling a handful of shimmering white marbles into his palm. "Hold on to them for a bit," she instructed, "roll them in your hands, set them into patterns on the ground, do whatever."

"It's a form of occupational therapy," Will muttered into his ear. "Keeping your hands busy, even with little things, is a way of managing your anxiety, you know, it helps you focus on something else."

Nico nodded quietly and tentatively began to roll the marbles between his fingers. They were so lightweight, yet felt so solid - it was definitely a strange sensation, made doubly so when he noticed the small trails of soft light following after them. He trailed them up and down the lengths of his bony fingers, set them on the ground and drew patterns in the dirt as he'd noticed Mena doing earlier…

He could feel both Will's and Mena's eyes on him, silently watching him play with the marbles, but oddly enough it didn't really bother him. His gaze was so focused on the moon-white orbs that he hardly noticed when more of them joined the fray, moving and floating through the air on their own.

After a moment, though, he realized that something was amiss, and he broke his gaze to look at Mena in surprise, then back at the marbles, and back at her again. "How… you…?"

Mena chuckled in response, a small smile on her face. "You have a soul-sucking iron sword, and yet a bag of magic marbles surprises you?"

Well, when she put it _that_ way, maybe it wasn't so strange after all.

"Did it help any?" Will asked, his voice soft.

"I, uh…" Honestly, the thing that surprised Nico the most was that it actually _had_. He definitely felt considerably calmer and lighter than he had earlier. "...yeah, it did."

He remembered when they were stuck in the motel in North Carolina, when Will had created light in the palm of his hand for the first time so that they could Iris-message Rachel Elizabeth Dare. He remembered the rainbows that had been cast around the room thanks to Butch's crystal; he remembered Mena offering one of her marbles in order to pay for the call.

 _This is all that I can spare,_ she'd said, _so make this message count._

Nico still had no idea what that meant, but he supposed it made a bit more sense now that he could tell that they weren't just ordinary marbles.

They may have done a good job at calming his nerves, but in the back of his mind, he was still hesitant. "I still don't think I can sleep, though. I really don't want to have another…" He bit his lip and stared down at his lap.

"Another nightmare?" Mena asked, slight exasperation in her voice. "Man, the Oneiroi really have it out for you, don't they…"

"I even asked Morpheus to cut it out, and obviously he didn't listen," Nico grumbled.

Will had idly started drumming his fingers on Nico's shoulder. "Mena, I think you might have to do the other thing."

"The _other thing_?"

"The other thing, you know, after we talked with Memnon."

"Oh. _That_ other thing."

Nico opened his mouth to ask why - of _course_ he remembered what had happened after they'd spoken with Tithonus' son, of course of course _of course_ \- but he stopped himself once he noticed _Mena's_ hands glowing.

"Look at me, di Angelo. Focus on my eyes," she advised as the light grew in intensity.

The light that Will generated was bright, white-hot, and piercing like the sun; Mena's light was much cooler and softer like gentle moonbeams. Nico supposed that was attributed to her status as a Hunter of Artemis - after all, Artemis herself had taken on the role of the lunar goddess when Selene had faded, which was half the reason they were even on this quest. It only made sense that those who pledged allegiance to her and the Hunt would be gifted with similar abilities.

But, despite his fascination with the subdued, silver-white light, he did as instructed and locked his eyes with Mena's, just as he had back in Atlanta.

The difference between then and now, however, was that Nico wasn't having a massive panic attack. He was already well past that point.

But that meant that whatever magic that Mena was working was taking effect much more quickly than it had back then. She'd clasped her hands around his head just as she'd done before, and the feeling that washed over Nico was no different from the sense of tranquility he would feel after a long night of watching the moon.

"How are you doing this?" he asked quietly, so as not to break that feeling of peace. "Is this a Hunter's power, or…"

"Children of the sun can heal physical pain," Mena replied, gesturing toward Will who was now seated behind him. "It stands to reason that those blessed by the moon would be able to heal mental pain, doesn't it?"

Nico shrugged slightly in response, giving her a short nod.

Eventually, Mena dropped her hands, settling them in her lap. "You should be able to sleep now. Without any nightmares."

He nodded again and leaned back against Will, too worn out to question it.

Will gave his shoulder a light shake. "C'mon, Neeks, let's get back to bed. It's been a long night, yeah?"

Nico simply grunted in response as he pushed himself up and let Will guide him back toward the tent, leaving Mena to keep watch.

Once inside, he was all too happy to lay back down in his spot on the futon beneath him, quietly watching Will settle in a few feet away.

Something about that didn't feel right. "Will?" he whispered in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"Would you… um, maybe come closer?"

Silence.

"Please?"

"...Okay."

The shuffling of blankets and the sudden surge of heat was enough to let him know that Will had done as asked - their futons were pressed together, leaving no room between them, and Will had huddled in closely, placing a warm hand on Nico's upper arm.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Nico bit his lip and nodded, reaching forward to grip his t-shirt again. "Yeah. I- I just… I don't want to sleep alone. Not tonight."

Mentally, he was kicking himself for showing this much vulnerability around the blond, but then he remembered that a couple hours earlier he was breaking down in said blond's arms, so he gave himself a little bit of leeway for that. He could allow himself that much after his emotions boiling over like that.

As he nudged himself closer to Will, he found himself thinking about Bianca again, wondering how it would go if he could just see her one more time.

He closed his eyes, picturing her alive and healthy, standing before him with a smile on her face.

He saw her open her arms for him, knowing he would fall into them without hesitation.

He heard her whisper into his ears: _it's okay, Nico. I'm here, you're safe. Everything's going to be just fine, you'll see._

He felt her tug him closer into her embrace, carding her fingers through his hair, pressing a soft, comforting kiss to the top of his head.

He drifted off to sleep before he could realize that the things he heard and felt weren't wishful thinking, and they weren't coming from Bianca.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aight, so if you've made it through this chapter in one piece, then you have more willpower than me - I cried like a four-year-old while writing this. So I may take a break to recover from it, maybe write something more fun and lighthearted (god I desperately need to update NCME so maybe I'll do that).

Also, as a reward for making it through this emotional trainwreck, here are two things that will happen in the next chapter:

1) we finally make it to the Lotus,  
and 2) we finally get to learn Mena's true identity. (I will neither confirm nor deny any guesses that any of you might have before then. :P)

So stay tuned!


	14. The Grim Goddess

**A/N:** Wow, okay, hi, it's been a while. Long story short: mental illness has been kicking my ass the last few months and I haven't been able to write much of anything. I'm doing better now, and this chapter has been a long time coming. I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

Las Vegas hadn't changed much since the last time Nico had been there.

No matter where you looked, there were lights, lights _everywhere_ : massive LED billboards and flashing neon signs on every building, tall palm trees illuminated from behind, glowing fountains, and of course, the replica of the Eiffel Tower shining like a beacon on the horizon.

Countless people fluttered down the sidewalks, in and out of buildings, some disoriented and stumbling, some with a woman on each arm, some wearing the brightest, flashiest costumes anyone had ever seen.

And there the five of them were, riding in on horseback.

While his companions loudly declared their fascination with the many sights, Nico was content to focus on Will's back in front of him, hood pulled up over his head.

Las Vegas was too loud, too bright. He really didn't want to be here, he knew what was coming, he knew why they were there. But, truthfully, Nico couldn't find himself to care anymore.

After tiring himself out with his emotional explosion, he had awakened to an empty tent. He had heard the others talking outside, and once he'd made his presence apparent, he'd had to field a small barrage of questions; _how are you feeling? Any more nightmares? We've got some breakfast, do you want anything? Did you sleep well?_

At any other time, Nico would've found himself completely overwhelmed, but after his massive catharsis only hours earlier, he hadn't had it in him to muster up enough grit to deflect his friends' concerns. All he'd really cared to do was hoarsely assure them that he was _fine_ , he wasn't hungry, and that they should probably get a move on because he didn't want to be near the junkyard anymore.

He hadn't missed the lingering look Will had given him, the silent message of _you're not fine and everyone knows it, we just want to help_ that his blue eyes had conveyed. Nor had he resisted when Will had pulled him up onto the back of their shared _aethon_ , then held on to his hand for a second longer than he should've afterward.

In short, Nico had been so, _so_ drained after his mournful flood of despair and self-loathing that his senses had become completely numb. He'd felt no fear or anxiety about their destination, no curiosity about the fact that Mena had been so nice to him hours earlier but was now back to her usual cold, callous self, no nervousness about holding on to Will's waist as the _aethons_ had taken off at top speed.

He would later describe himself as "fresh out of fucks to give".

At some point on their way across the desert, a massive flock of harpies had stopped them in their tracks. There was no telling how many there had been - maybe fifty, maybe a hundred, Nico didn't know, and quite frankly he didn't care.

He'd resigned himself to covering for Will as the son of Apollo prepared his light arrows; Nico's sword was more than enough to send any harpy dumb enough to get close to oblivion. He'd tied the scrap of Bianca's coat - a long ribbon of tattered, soiled silver fabric - around the hilt of his blade, not batting an eye as it caught the light from Will's arrows.

Cecil and Lou Ellen had proven themselves instrumental during the battle: Lou Ellen, armed with her special pig bombs and a multitude of magic spells, had taken down a vast number of harpies by borrowing a few flames from the _aethon_ she rode and multiplying them into a massive fireball that singed the harpies' feathers and rendered them unable to fly, making them easier targets for Nico's sword and Will's arrows.

The harpies that had powered through the flames had almost immediately been caught by Cecil in a strange net-like contraption of his own creation, before being doused in Greek fire. Because of its thin Celestial Bronze cords, he'd easily been able to pull it through the ashy remains of the harpies before slinging it into the air for another catch.

And as for Will and Mena, their arrows had hit their marks with deadly accuracy. While Will's arrows had torn through feathers and exploded into golden fireworks upon impact, Mena's silver arrows had enveloped their targets in a soft white glow, stopping them mid-flight and sending them crashing down to the ground, fast asleep.

(Later, after the battle, Cecil and Lou Ellen had asked about Mena's lunar arrows.

"You've heard the story of Queen Niobe," she'd started, "who boasted that her seven sons and seven daughters were far superior to those of Leto."

"Yeah, Dad was super salty about that," Will had cut in. "So he and Artemis took revenge by killing all of Niobe's children."

"Right. Apollo had slain all of Niobe's sons with his solar arrows - which tore through their bodies so harshly that they were incinerated - whereas Artemis' arrows had simply put the daughters to sleep while they slowly died. Does that answer your question?")

Nico hadn't had to use his own powers during the battle, fortunately. His Stygian iron sword had been enough, and with the five of them fighting tirelessly atop their _aethons_ , the flock of harpies had dropped like flies and then they'd been able to continue on toward Las Vegas.

And now that they were actually there, Nico refused to acknowledge the feeling of bile rising in his throat.

Eventually, their horseback ride down the Strip led them to a hauntingly familiar building, one that Nico had thought - _hoped_ \- he would never see again.

 _The Lotus Hotel & Casino, _the blazing neon sign read.

He couldn't stop himself from burying his face between Will's shoulders, couldn't stop his arms from tightening around his waist.

He didn't want to look at it.

He didn't want to be there.

He _definitely_ didn't want to go inside.

But what other choice was there?

His shoulder hurt.

"So this is it, huh?" Lou Ellen asked, followed by the sounds of her feet hitting the sidewalk. "The infamous Lotus Hotel…"

Cecil let out a low whistle. "Looks swank as hell. I wonder what it's like on the inside."

 _No you don't,_ Nico thought to himself.

"Its magic is very powerful," Mena started, "I've never been inside, myself, but I've heard accounts from others."

 _From Bianca._ Nico definitely hadn't forgotten the Iris Message that he'd overheard. How much had she told the Hunters? Had his sister explained the magic to them, how time outside of the hotel flowed so much faster than the inside? How everything inside, right down to the employees, had such a powerful hold over its prisoners that some may have missed entire generations during their stay?

He could almost _hear_ the painful throbs coursing through his arm, in time with his racing pulse.

"Nico?"

Will's voice.

Slowly, hesitantly, he lifted his head to see the blond peering over his shoulder at him. "You okay?"

"Fine," Nico croaked out in response, knowing that Will could see right through him.

Will pursed his lips and made to dismount their _aethon_ , helping him down afterward.

"So, di Angelo," Mena cut in, fixing her icy eyes on him. "You have experience with this place. Any bright ideas on how we're going to make this work?"

Nico gripped his jacket and shrunk into himself. "I… I don't… want to go in. I _can't_ go in there."

The Hunter was unimpressed. "Yes, we've established this. And I'm just giving you a friendly reminder that this is the _only_ thing we have leading us to Eos - who is, as the only remaining Hyperionide alive, the only one who might be able to tell us how to awaken the other two."

"I _know_ that," Nico spat, meeting her gaze with a glare of his own, "I _know_ , alright? Don't patronize me just because I have _reservations_ about walking back into that hellhole."

"Uhh, guys-"

"I _refuse_ to believe that we have come all this way for nothing. Are you _seriously_ going to back out now that we've crossed the entire country to get here? Are you really that much of a _coward_ , son of Hades?"

The temperature dropped so drastically that the four _aethons_ whinnied in protest.

"Do _not_ call me a fucking _coward_ , Hunter," Nico growled, the sidewalk under his feet frosting over. "You have _no right_ , you don't know a _fraction_ of what I've been through because of this awful place, _you have no right_ to call me a _coward_ when you won't even tell us who you really are!"

"He's kinda got a point," Cecil squeaked from nearby; he was quick to scramble behind Lou Ellen under the weight of the two ferocious glares he received.

"Then what are you going to do, _coward_?" Mena continued, her scowl matching his own. "Are you just going to stay out here while the rest of us risk being trapped inside until Chaos destroys everything?"

He could feel the shadows reacting to his anger, the cold tendrils of darkness crawling up his legs. The pavement began to rumble beneath his feet, the vibrations startling the _aethons_ so much that they transformed into pure sun and dispersed into the night. His mind distantly registered the sound of car horns blaring around them, but between the blinding, searing pain in his shoulder and the absolute _fury_ directed at this-

A loud, piercing whistle completely derailed his train of thought, and he clasped his hands over his ears. "Mother _fuck-_ "

"Okay, this is escalating far too quickly," Will cut in, lowering his thumb and forefinger from his lips, "let's take a time-out, yeah?"

" _Di immortales,_ Solace! You gotta _warn_ us when you do that," Lou Ellen protested, rubbing at her temples. Behind her, Cecil was holding his ears in pain and jogging in place.

And Mena, for her part, just stared at Will, wide-eyed, as if he'd sprouted two extra heads.

When Nico's ears finally stopped ringing, he dropped his arms and turned to the sudden hand on his shoulder, his shadows evaporating under its warmth. He glanced over to Will, who had situated himself between Nico and Mena, hands on both of their shoulders.

"Look, we're gonna have to come to a compromise here, okay?" the son of Apollo continued, alternating his firm gaze between the two. "Mena, stop egging him on, only those with a true death wish do that. Nico, your fear is totally justified, but you know there's a reason why we're here. Now are we going to handle this like mature demigods, or am I going to have to make you two kiss and make up?"

"Ew, no," Nico replied, in tandem with Mena's exclamation of " _gross_."

"Solace: eight hundred, di Angelo: zero, Mena: negative one?" Lou Ellen piped up, in an attempt to diffuse the harsh mood.

Mena simply scoffed in response as Nico buried his face in his hands.

"Fine," the Hunter conceded. "Then, how about we make a deal, di Angelo?"

He lifted his head and fixed her with another glare. "What kind of _deal_ could you possibly have in-"

"You help us inside the Lotus, and I'll tell you everything. Who I am, where I'm from, why I'm here."

"Ooh, that's a good one, you should probably go for it," Cecil quipped from his hiding place behind Lou Ellen.

Nico ignored him. Mena's offer was tempting, he had to admit - he'd been wondering about her identity from the moment they'd met. Now, she was basically handing it to him on a silver platter, and all he had to do in exchange was go into the Lotus with them…

"Swear it on the Styx," he countered, balling his hands into fists.

Her pale eyes bored into his own like shards of glass. "I swear, on the river Styx, that I will reveal my entire identity and my entire motive to you, on the condition that you face your fears like a man and help us through the Lotus."

His scowl deepened at her phrasing, but the look of determination in her eyes was enough to convince him of her sincerity. "Right, then. You've got yourself a deal."

A satisfied smirk played on Will's face, and he clapped his hands together. "So, now that we're not biting each other's heads off, what say we try and figure out a plan of action?"

Nico huffed in defeat, blowing a portion of his bangs upward. "Alright, well." He took a moment to compose himself with a deep breath, dragging his hands down his face. "First thing's first: _you_ ," he pointed directly at Cecil, "are _absolutely not_ going in."

Cecil stepped out from behind Lou Ellen, crossing his arms in offense. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have the attention span of a gnat," Lou Ellen replied, raising an eyebrow at him.

Will looked like he was holding back a laugh. "Yeah, no offense, buddy, but even by demigod standards your ADHD is off the charts. We'd literally never get you out of there."

For a moment, Cecil looked like he wanted to protest, but after a short pause, he shrugged and nodded in concession.

Lou Ellen grinned and shook her head, playfully ruffling his hair. "I can stay and babysit him, we'll set up camp nearby. It really ought to be just the three of you going in anyway, since you're like, the 'official questers' and stuff.

"Good call," Nico agreed, "the magic of the Lotus is extremely powerful. Going in as a big group would be taking a huge risk."

"Can you tell us how it feels, being inside?" Mena asked. "What kind of emotions should we be expecting to go through?"

"It's…" He sighed, rubbing at his eyes. If simply _recalling_ the feeling of being inside the building made him feel this anxious, then there was no telling what _actually_ being back would do to him. "It's like… you get inside, and you see this enormous atrium, yeah? There are video games, casino games, _too many lights_ \- all as far as the eye can see. You feel a sense of wonder, like, how can this place possibly exist? And you want to explore, you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

"And gradually, you start forgetting about everything else. You stop _caring_. You stop caring about why you're there, _how_ you got there. All you know is that you never want to leave, you want to spend your days playing games and your nights relaxing in your suite. And you might start to question it, you get this niggling feeling in the back of your mind that something is _wrong_ , but you can't figure out what it is, and eventually you stop caring about that too."

Nico paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath. He gripped the sleeves of his skeleton hoodie, pulling it tighter around himself. "And before you know it, a day, a week, a _month_ has gone by. But outside, that's not the case. When you leave, the feeling of _wrongness_ comes back tenfold. You might grab a newspaper, or see a television broadcast, and… _and_ …"

He felt a warm, gentle pressure between his shoulders, and he swallowed the lump in his throat, nearly choking out his next words.

"You realize that _decades_ have passed, and you were completely oblivious to it."

Silence followed his words. He saw a mixture of terror and awe in the four pairs of eyes that were fixated on him, and he reached back to pull the hood over his head, hiding his face from view.

"You know we won't let that happen, Nico."

He glared up at Will through his hair. " _How?_ You can't even tell when the magic starts to affect you. It takes a hold of your mind and shoves itself in like it's always been there. There's no way of knowing that it's manipulating you until you're there for a while and you see how it's controlling others."

Will simply met his glare with a firm, yet soft gaze of his own. "That fact that you were even able to explain how it works at _all_ is huge, alright? You've been here before. You know what it does to you. And because you _have_ that knowledge, it's likely that you _will_ be able to sense the magic and fight it off."

"He's right," Mena cut in, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Think of it as dueling with someone new. The first time you fight them, it'll be difficult because you can't predict their moves, you can't get a read on their fighting style. But, once you've familiarized yourself with them, it becomes easier for you to see what's coming and how to counter it."

Nico blinked up at the Hunter as he let her words sink in.

The first time he'd ever shadow traveled, the feeling of weightlessness and freezing cold had taken him completely off-guard. He'd wondered if that was what it felt like to be floating in outer space, or to drown in the Void, or to stop existing altogether. But, the more he used the power, the more he grew accustomed to it, and eventually that feeling of being dragged down into the dark became nothing more than an afterthought.

He'd learned how to block out that sense of emptiness that had plagued him when he ducked into the shadows. So, why should this be any different? Why _shouldn't_ he be able to resist the powers of the Lotus, if he knew what was coming?

Nico sighed. "Yeah, okay. So I might be able to hold it off, but what about you two? Any bright ideas on how you guys are going to survive?"

To his left, he heard an idle cough.

Lou Ellen was batting her eyelashes at him, whereas Cecil just regarded him with an overconfident smirk.

He immediately regretted asking that question.

* * *

"Is this _really_ necessary? Why do you even _have_ a parachute cord, anyway?"

"Hey, you never know when you're gonna need to scale a rock face or lasso a 'gator or something," Cecil replied as he hovered near Nico's waist, weaving the thick cable through his belt loops.

Nico frowned and tugged on the cord. About two feet away from him stood Will, the long cable wrapped through the loops on his own shorts a couple of times. On Will's other side stood Mena, who looked none too happy about being tied to two boys.

"Do they have a lot of alligator rodeos in Wisconsin?" Will asked, watching Cecil work in amusement.

"The local Amish population gets a kick out of it," Cecil replied as he tied a few finishing knots into Nico's makeshift belt. "Okay, there you go. You guys should be pretty secure, so no trying to run off, 'kay?"

Nico rolled his eyes and looked over their small 'chain'. Or rather, _up at._ "You realize that if one of these two takes off running, I don't stand a chance, right?" he pointed out, gesturing up at Will and Mena.

Cecil rubbed at his chin as he processed the question.

Nico fidgeted uncomfortably. In terms of height, both Will and Mena looked to be nearing the six foot mark, with the latter being the slightest bit taller. Compared to Nico's modest five foot four, they might as well have been giants. Not to mention that he himself was still quite underweight...

"Okay, yeah, I get your point," Cecil conceded, "I probably should've stuck you in the middle."

Smacking his face into his palm, Nico heaved a groan. Sometimes it sucked being the short one of the group.

"So, are we ready yet?" Mena asked, breaking from her conversation with Lou Ellen. "We've been standing out here long enough."

"I dunno, I'm ready when y'all are," Will answered before peering down at Nico. "What about you, Neeks?"

Turning to look at him, Nico raised an eyebrow. "I don't… I don't know," he replied quietly. "I don't think I'll ever really _be_ ready. But we have to do this. I just wish there were more we could do to protect ourselves."

"What about tinfoil hats?" Lou Ellen suggested. "One of my sisters uses them to block out other people's magic when she's practicing on her own."

"Does it actually work?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Amazing."

"Remember our deal, di Angelo. We're _kind of_ on a time crunch here," Mena cut in, impatiently crossing her arms. "There's no telling how much time will pass while we're inside, so we'd better get going, preferably _soon_."

"Aaaaand that's our cue to skedaddle." Lou Ellen grabbed Cecil's arm and started dragging him away. "We'll find a place to set up camp. IM us when you're done, okay?"

And then, there were three.

Nico repeatedly clenched and loosened his fists, hoping to work out some of the anxiety that had pooled within him.

He really, _really_ did not want to go inside.

But the time had come.

"Alright," he started, after heaving a deep sigh, "first thing's first: the employees here? They'll definitely try to give you stuff. A game card, a lotus cake, or whatever. Do _not_ accept anything that they offer you. Don't talk to them, don't even make eye contact if you can avoid it. Don't touch any of the games we might pass; you'll instantly want to spend hours playing, which is probably the worst idea ever."

He nervously shuffled his feet, staring into the glass doors before them. "Other than that, all you can really do is try to focus on the mission and pray."

And with that, the three of them stepped through the double doors.

Nico's senses were immediately on high alert as the atmosphere of the Lotus began to swallow him. The lights from the games and entertainment stages were almost blinding compared to the night sky they'd been surrounded by for so long; the noise from the machines and people's joyous yelps of victory were already giving him a migraine; the surprisingly stale air invaded his sinuses and filled his lungs and all of a sudden he was a small child again, terrified as Alecto left him and Bianca standing in the lobby, clinging to his sister as if his life depended on it.

But, despite all of that, his death senses were what had his pulse racing the most.

"Eos is here," he murmured, "I can feel her fading. She's dying."

"Then let's move," Mena replied quietly.

"Any idea where she might be?" Will asked.

Covering his ears, Nico squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate on the sensation in the pit of his stomach. Almost instantly, he felt a pull in his gut, as if someone had grabbed onto his rope belt and tugged him forward.

"She's in the hotel, in the upper floors. I think."

Opening his eyes, he looked across the open space. At the far end of the massive room were several sets of glass elevators.

"Let's head that way," Nico suggested, gesturing toward them. "We might have to check several floors."

"That'll take _far_ too long," Mena protested.

He shot a glare at her. "Do _you_ have any better ideas, then?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but after faltering a moment, she looked away and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah, that's what I _thought_."

Nico started walking. He could feel the rope behind him pull taut, almost stopping him in his tracks, and he glanced back toward his companions. Will looked completely awestruck as he took in all of the sights, though with a tug of the rope connecting him to Nico, he seemed to break out of his reverie and followed after him, pulling Mena along as well.

As they trudged across the room toward the elevators, Nico could feel the magic starting to probe into his mind.

 _Look, Nico, there's your favorite pinball machine over there. Why not give it a try, for old time's sake?_

 _They have the new Mythomagic expansion at the prize counter, you'll be able to whip enough tickets up for it in no time._

 _Remember the green hat you saved up for, the one you got for Bianca? They still have them, good as new._

Under other circumstances, he almost certainly would've given into the whispers running through his mind. But this time was different.

Will had been completely right. Because Nico _had_ been there before, had recalled the difference between being inside the hotel and out, the sense of manipulative magic trying to take over his own autonomy was especially profound.

 _No, not today,_ he told himself. _I will not become a victim of this place again._

The feeling of a warm hand suddenly gripping his own pulled himself out of his thoughts. Startled, he looked over his shoulder to see Will regarding him with a look of concern.

"Is this okay?" he asked, lifting their joined hands. "You're really tense."

Nico simply blinked at him before facing forward again, fighting off the heat rising in his face.

He made no effort to let go of Will's hand.

Several hostesses attempted to grab his attention as they made their way toward the elevators. "Ah, Mr. di Angelo, it's wonderful to see you again! Can I interest you in a lotus flower?" they repeated over and over, almost in a robotic manner. Fortunately, a fierce glower was enough to send them skittering off.

The three of them were just nearing their destination when suddenly, a sharp tug behind Nico caused him to stumble. Tightly gripping Will's arm for support, he watched in horror as Mena tugged them along almost effortlessly.

Will seemed to have resigned himself to following her, though Nico was quick to dig his heels into the carpeted floors in a futile attempt to keep her from pressing forward.

"Where are you _going?!_ " he shouted, shifting his weight to try and pull them backward more easily.

When Mena responded, however, she sounded completely calm. "I've sensed something important. We need to go this way."

"Sensed _what_ -" The sudden stop caused Will to crash into Mena's back, and the lack of resistance forced Nico down onto the floor. "Son of a…"

With Will's help, he pulled himself back to his feet, grumbling about stubborn Hunter women under his breath.

Every ounce of his frustration with her was completely thrown to the wayside when he saw where she'd led them.

Sitting at a blackjack table with a few pieces of rotten fruit sitting among a large stack of casino chips was an all-too-familiar figure with deeply tanned skin, a head of curly black hair, and vast, autumn-colored wings furled against his back.

"Z- _Zephyros_ ," he choked out.

The figure turned to peer over his shoulder before breaking into a wide smirk and swirling around on his stool to face him. "Well, would you look at _these_ familiar faces," the aforementioned greeted, resting his chin in one hand.

"God of the West Wind," Will acknowledged. "You know this guy, Nico?"

Nico swallowed the massive lump in his throat. "Croatia. Before _the thing_ happened," he hissed.

Will's eyes lit up as he realized the meaning behind Nico's words, and he nodded in understanding.

Mena looked completely unshaken as she addressed the god. "Shouldn't you be off doing Eros' bidding, Zephyros?"

"I had a few vacation days saved up," he replied nonchalantly, swiping handfuls of chips off of the table and stuffing them into the pockets of his Bermuda shorts. "Sorry, fellas, I gotta sit this one out."

He rose to his feet, wings twitching as he regarded the three of them. "So… a distant relative, a son of my rival, and my favorite child of Hades. What brings you three to to the magnificent Lotus?"

" _Distant relative?_ " Nico repeated incredulously.

"I'll explain later," Mena replied, not even bothering to look back at him. "We're here to see Eos."

"Hmm, hmm," Zephyros rocked his head back and forth as he considered the request. "Mother isn't really feeling up to visitors. Can we take a raincheck on that one?"

"We don't have time for that and you _know_ it. Take us to Eos."

The winged god crossed his arms, regarding Mena with a cocky grin. "What's in it for me?"

Nico and Will simply gawked at her as she reached up to grab the straps of Zephyros' tank top and aggressively pulled him close enough that their noses were almost touching. "What's in it for _you_ is me not shoving broken arrows into your ears again. Do I make myself clear?"

" _Again?_ " Nico whispered, exchanging a bewildered glance with Will.

Zephyros visibly gulped. When he spoke again, his voice was three octaves higher. "Now that you mention it, Mother _did_ say she was expecting someone. I _guess_ we could drop in for a visit."

Without waiting for a response, Zephyros snapped his fingers, and Nico felt himself turn into wind.

* * *

He'd forgotten how _weird_ it felt to be made of air.

Even weirder was the feeling of _not_ being air again.

Zephyros had whisked the four of them across the massive ground floor and up a glass elevator shaft. He'd been able to see _everything_ inside of the hotel, the arcade on the second floor, the spa and lounge on the third, and so on up until the main atrium was out of view.

When they'd finally come to a stop, Nico and his companions had been unceremoniously dumped onto the floor in a big heap - Will on the bottom, Nico splayed out on top of him, and Mena over them both. The latter two instantly sprang up in an attempt to get as far away from each other as possible.

It shouldn't have been easily achievable, but the rope binding the three of them together seemed to have been lost along the way.

More importantly than that, they'd landed by a door leading into a suite. Carved into the pure white door was a golden inlay reading _Eos_ in ancient Greek.

Shaking his head as he tried to regain his bearings, Nico watched as Zephyros rested a palm against the surface of the door. A soft orange glow rippled through the white wood before it slowly swung open on its own.

"Mother," Zephyros started as he took a step into the room, "you have guests."

A soft yet _very_ familiar voice answered from inside, and Zephyros motioned for the others to follow after him.

The feeling of death, the feeling of _fading_ , erupted in the pit of Nico's stomach as he crossed the threshold into the suite.

There, sitting in a golden wheelchair by a large bay window, was Eos, Titan-goddess of the dawn.

Nico had tried to picture the goddess many times during the quest, if only to put a face to the voice that had spoken to them through Rachel Dare, Endymion, and the old radio in the junkyard.

He'd imagined her to be ethereally beautiful, with rosy pink hands and hair the color of the sunrise. Her eyes would glow as brightly as the sun on a spring afternoon, and her skin in a healthy golden glow.

What he saw when he laid his eyes on Eos was exactly what he'd pictured in his mind.

Minus the _healthy_ part.

Eos' dull auburn hair fell to the floor in tangled waves, turning into a dirty dishwater-blonde near the ends. Her eyes were indeed as white as the sun, but were severely lacking in that luminous flash he'd seen on the faces of Rachel and Endymion. The rumpled _chiton_ she wore was filled with the greys of a cloudy day when the sunrise wasn't visible, making her pale skin look even paler.

Zephyros moved to stand behind her wheelchair, reaching down to brush his fingers through her hair. "My mother, Eos."

Nico immediately dropped to one knee once the goddess turned her focus to their group. Beside him, Will and Mena did the same.

"Lady Eos," Will greeted respectfully, "we've come seeking information about your siblings, Helios and Selene."

For a moment, everything was silent, and Nico wondered if she would even answer.

"My brother… my sister…"

Her voice sounded much weaker in person than it had before.

"...finally, you come. Rise, children of my prophecy…"

The three of them pulled themselves onto their feet at her request. A sharp hiss came from somewhere beside Nico, and he turned to look at Mena, who was clutching her thigh with an expression of pain on her face.

"That leg of yours _still_ hurts, Mena?" Will questioned softly.

"It's fine," she protested, straightening herself up.

Nico frowned at her. "You got injured during the battle with the Keres. I wasn't sure how it would affect you with the whole, uh, Hunter immortality thing…"

"You're hurt," Eos mumbled, "and by a Ker, no less…"

Mena shook her head. "It's no bother."

"Come here."

Mena may have told off Zephyros a short time ago - how she actually _survived_ it, Nico still puzzled himself on - but the request of a goddess was apparently where she drew the line. She looked hesitant about approaching Eos, but pushed herself forward anyway.

Nico watched as Eos lifted her shaking hands to gingerly press against the pus-stained bandage that had been covering the wound this whole time (and probably should've been thrown out a long time ago).

"Mother, wait-" Zephyros started.

But it was too late; Eos gasped for breath as she send a small surge of power into Mena's leg. Immediately, the Hunter seemed to brighten up, and when Eos dropped her hands, she unwrapped the bandage to reveal the milky white skin underneath, completely unmarred.

"...thank you, Lady Eos," she muttered as she straightened herself, a blush rising to her face.

"It was my pleasure, dear," Eos replied as she drew in another deep breath. "Look at you. You've grown so beautiful, just like…"

The goddess bit her lip as she trailed off, as if she were too pained to continue.

Will cleared his throat, drawing attention back to the matter at hand. "Lady Eos, my father, Apollo, has been exiled. Without him to raise the sun every day, we can't have a day at all-"

"I know of your quest, William Solace. You're looking to bring my siblings back into existence. Because without a solar deity, Nyx has easily been able to take over with her night sky. And the consequences facing us are dire…"

A sudden series of coughs escaped from her throat, and Zephyros briefly left her side to retrieve a glass of nectar for her.

After taking a few long sips, Eos continued speaking. "That is why I've called the three of you to me. I've grown so weak that my powers cannot hold out for long, so I've had to deliver the prophecy to you in pieces. So tell me, children, what do you think it means?"

Will bit his lip, then recited the first lines they'd been given. " _When one sun falls, another shall rise. A long lost legacy to ignite the skies._ I'm guessing the first line refers to the fall of Apollo and his replacement by Helios."

"Correct. And the second part?"

" _The full moon fades, her dying light… relinquished to the Eternal Night,_ " Nico replied. "That's about Selene, obviously."

Eos shook her head. "You're half-right. There's more to it than that, though."

He opened his mouth to question it, but Mena spoke up before he had the chance.

" _A darkness ascends, with bated breath, to bring the world to its final death._ Chaos is rising because of Nyx abandoning her post in Tartarus."

"That it is, my dear," Eos nodded toward her. "Any questions thus far?"

Nico was still stuck on those two middle lines. _There's more to it than that,_ Eos had said. But what did that mean? Who else, other than Selene, could it possibly be referring to? He had a slight suspicion in his mind, but…

Will's voice broke him from his thoughts. "A long lost legacy to ignite the skies… that's been eating away at my mind ever since we first heard it. I feel like it's… really important to me somehow, but I can't put my finger on why."

The look on Eos' face was unreadable. She gazed up at Will silently for a few moments before slowly reaching toward him, as if beckoning him to take her hand. "Come to me, William Solace."

Will exchanged glances with both Nico and Mena before stepping forward and offering his hand.

Eos grasped his hand in both of her own, staring up at Will. "Please," she begged, voice laden with desperation, "I need to know… you can create light, can't you?"

"Um… yeah," Will answered, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Show me. I need to _see_ it."

"...of course." With a hesitant nod, Will gently pulled his hand free and took a step backward. Spreading his arms out with his palms facing upward, he turned to glance at Nico over his shoulder, as if asking for encouragement.

Nico was even more confused by the whole thing, but he nodded at Will anyway. He was absolutely aware that the son of Apollo was willing to do whatever it took to proceed with their quest, which was admittedly one of the reasons Nico admired him so.

Will flashed him a small smile, then closed his eyes and turned to face Eos again.

Nico could feel him gathering his energy. Even from where he was standing, he felt the heat radiating off of the boy, and after a moment, that heat coalesced into two small balls of light hovering over each of Will's palms.

That should've been enough proof for Eos, but Will wasn't finished - or rather, the light itself wasn't finished. It began to spread and swirl around Will's body, tendrils of golden light wrapping themselves around him like a whirlwind, lifting him off of the ground, illuminating every freckle on his skin in tiny pinpricks of sun.

Needless to say, Nico was completely entranced. Watching the show of light was almost hypnotic; the heat made him feel safe and warm, and his eyes couldn't help but follow the shimmering threads as they started to die down.

Eventually, Will's feet touched the ground again, and the light became nothing more than a few particles of glitter falling from his hands.

Tears streamed down Eos' face as she clasped Will's hand again. "I knew it, I knew it was you… I can't believe it, you've finally come…!"

"What's she talking about, Will?" Nico whispered.

"The legacy," Mena answered for him, crossing her arms. "It's him. It's Solace."

Eos gripped Will's hands tighter, a relieved-looking smile on her face. "William Solace, where do you think your control over light came from?"

"Um…" Will took a moment to clear his throat before answering, voice full of wariness. "It's because of Apollo, yeah? My cabin back at camp, we've all heard of children of Apollo inheriting photokinetic powers. But it's so rare that everyone thinks it's just a myth… right?"

"Wrong," Eos replied, gently shaking her head. "Your powers do not come from your father, but your _mother_."

Will's eyes widened in shock. "My mother?"

"Your mother. Naomi _Sol_ ace. Your mortal family is descended from Helios himself."

Silence filled the room.

"I…" Will breathed, "I'm the legacy…? It's really me…?"

"Yes. You are a legacy of Helios. Your powers over light are all his doing. You, William Solace… you are the one who will ignite the sky. You are the one who will drive Nyx back into Tartarus where she belongs." Gripping his hand, she lowered her forehead to rest on top of it. "There's still hope after all…"

Nico had been completely blown away by the revelation. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Will's powers had manifested so suddenly; they must have lied dormant from the moment he was born, so something had to have triggered their manifestation. But what could it have been… Nico had no idea on that one.

Moreover, that portion of the legacy had been referring to Will himself. And what Nico was wondering now if the other parts referred to himself and Mena somehow…

That suspicion in the back of his head was really, really starting to irk him.

"Right, okay, so," Nico started. "The first part of the prophecy is referring to Will directly, we know that now. And the second part… it's not about Selene at all, is it."

Eos had dropped Will's hand in order to wipe her tears away. "Correct," she replied, still a bit choked up. "It's referring to _her_."

She lifted her hand, pointing directly at Mena.

The Hunter was fidgeting uncomfortably.

"... You knew, didn't you." Nico turned to face her, fixing her with a stern glare. "You knew this whole time."

When she didn't answer, Zephyros spoke up in her stead as he lightly massaged his mother's shoulders. "I think it's time to come clean, cuz'."

"Cuz'. _Cousin._ " Pushing past a still-dumbfounded Will, he stood right in front of Mena, fixing his dark eyes with hers. "Alright, Hunter. We had a deal. I've already done my half, so now it's _your turn_."

"Back off, small fry," Mena replied flatly, flicking the tip of his nose. "Give me some room to _breathe_ before I tell you my tragic backstory."

Huffing in frustration, Nico stepped backward - coincidentally, right into Will, who promptly turned his focus to Mena as well.

Mena sighed deeply, pressing herself against the wall behind her. "Alright. It's time for you to know the truth."

She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath before opening them again, resignation reflecting in the pale depths. "I'm not a demigod. Nor am I a nymph, or a mortal."

"Go on," Nico implored.

"Mena… is not really a name, so much as a _title_."

" _Stop dragging this out already!_ "

"Watch your tone, Nico di Angelo," she replied sharply, her eyes boring deep into his own.

He pretended not to notice the spark of intimidation running up his spine.

As she stared at him and Will, the silver aura that had always surrounded her seemed to glow even brighter. "I am the last of the fifty _menae_ , daughters of Selene and Endymion, and goddesses of the lunar months."


	15. The Moon's Motivation

The second the words left her mouth, Mena cast her gaze to the ground, a look of shame crossing her face.

All Nico could do was angrily stare at her while he tried to process the information they'd just received.

All at once, _so many things_ started making sense: that _off_ feeling, the general sense of oddity that he'd been experiencing from the moment he had met her had been the slightest hint of a godly presence. It had been too faint to discern what it was immediately, but now that he actually knew _what_ it was, it became much easier to identify it.

And the wound that she'd sustained during the fight with the Keres - the only reason she'd withstood the poison this long was because of her status as a minor goddess. But it was also the same reason why it didn't heal, either. Nico couldn't imagine what kind of abilities a "goddess of the lunar months" would have, but obviously healing such a major wound wasn't on that list.

Despite everything that had started falling into place after her confession, there were still many questions that remained unanswered.

The problem was that Nico wanted those answers _now_ , but they couldn't afford to spend anymore time in the Lotus than they'd already had.

Mena quietly shuffled her feet before finally peering up at him. "Say something," she urged, lifting the thick veil of silence that had settled over the room.

Oh, there were _lots_ of things Nico wanted to say, most of which in a very loud tone of voice. But instead, he took a deep breath and turned to the boy next to him, keeping his voice as even as possible.

"Solace, can I talk to you over here for a minute?"

"Uh, sure."

Without a further word, Nico gripped Will's wrist in one hand and tugged him back out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

He took a deep breath as he mulled over the words in his mind - he was angry, _gods_ was he angry, but more importantly… what were they going to do from there? They'd found Eos, they'd learned about both Will _and_ Mena's heritage, so what was next?

"She was _a goddess_ the whole time," Nico finally croaked, still facing the door.

He heard Will exhale from behind him. "Yeah, that… that's a thing."

Nico rolled his eyes, turning to look at him. "You don't seem particularly surprised about this news," he deadpanned, crossing his arms as he heavily leaned against the door.

"Well, I- I guess I am, but at the same time I'm kinda not?" Will shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I mean, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. She refused to let me look at her leg wound because she didn't want me to see that she bled ichor instead of… well, _blood_. Not to mention how she survived that long with that kind of wound, plus there's a lot of little things that just sort of _add up_ , you know?"

"And the fact that she _lied_ to us doesn't bother you at all? That she purposefully hid this little fact from all of us this whole time?"

"I don't think you're in any position to talk about _keeping secrets_ , di Angelo."

Nico winced. "Okay, fair point. But this is different. I kept the news about Chaos from you guys so you wouldn't stress out even more than you already are, and she just… oh, I don't know, kept _a vital part of her identity_ from us. That's like me hiding the fact that I'm a son of Hades, or that I was born in the thirties."

Will heaved a sigh, running a hand through his curls. "Look, Nico, I get what you're saying. It _is_ weird. I mean, you know the whole thing about gods not being permitted to directly assist demigods and stuff…"

"Actually, Morpheus told me that even the gods can get desperate when Chaos is involved, so there's that?"

"Makes sense, I guess. But the point is, I think you're overreacting."

" _I'm_ overreacting? You're underreacting!"

"This is a lot to take in, okay?" Will suddenly snapped. "Yeah, fine, I'm probably going to freak out a bit later after everything settles in. But while you're being pissed off about discovering Mena's true identity like you were so insistent on, _I'm_ over here trying to come to terms with the fact that I'm a _legacy of Helios!_ How do you think that feels, to suddenly find out that you're not only the son of a god, but a _titan_ is your ancestor?"

Nico pressed himself firmly against the door, taken aback by Will's sudden outburst.

The two of them simply glared at each other in silence for a moment before Will sighed again and pushed his hair back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I just… I'm overwhelmed. By everything."

Biting his lip, Nico gave him a nod. "Yeah. Me too. I-"

The son of Hades abruptly found himself cut off by the surprising lack of door behind him.

Before he hit the floor, however, a pair of hands caught him under his arms, heaving him back up to his feet. "Falling for me already, kid?" Zephyros' voice sounded from behind him. "Seems like you took my advice to heart."

Feeling his face heat up, Nico tore himself from the god's grasp and glared up at him. "Sh-shut up! What do you want?"

Zephyros chuckled and gestured toward him and Will. "My mother wants another word with you two before you go. Something about a prophecy, she says."

His embarrassment forgotten, Nico exchanged a curious glance with Will, and they followed Zephyros back into the suite.

Eos seemed to have recovered from her show of emotion and was now gently stroking Mena's hands, who had taken a seat next to her. The Hunter glanced up at their arrival, but was quick to lower her gaze back down to her aunt's hands.

"Demigods," Eos began quietly, "over time, I have slowly revealed to you the pieces of my prophecy to save the sun, save our world from Chaos. And now, I give you the final piece of the puzzle... the key to banishing Nyx back to Tartarus where she belongs."

She blinked slowly, and then her eyes were as bright as the sun as she recited the prophecy to them in full.

 _When one sun falls, another shall rise_ _  
_ _A long lost legacy to ignite the skies_

 _The full moon fades, her dying light_ _  
_ _Relinquished to the Eternal Night_

 _A darkness ascends, with bated breath_ _  
_ _To bring the world to its final death_

 _Two souls alight, one soul withdrawn_ _  
_ _To become the shadows and awaken the dawn_

The glow in her eyes faded, and the goddess slumped forward; Mena reached up to take a hold of her shoulders in order to steady her.

Meanwhile, with the final piece of the prophecy unveiled, Nico was completely shaken to his core.

 _Become the shadows._

Those words - those five terrible syllables - had haunted him since before their quest had even started. They had plagued him ever since he nearly destroyed himself bringing the Athena Parthenos back to Camp.

 _Become the shadows._

They echoed throughout his mind over and over, an endless mantra that overtook him every time he shadow traveled, every time he pulled himself into the darkness and felt its cold fingers grasping at him, digging into his skin, dragging him down deeper and deeper into oblivion.

 _Become the shadows._

And now, he had heard them again, this time in the very prophecy that defined the outcome of their quest. _Two souls alight_ : that had to be referring to Will and Mena, that much was obvious to him. _One soul withdrawn:_ he didn't even question that it had to be himself. _To become the shadows and awaken the dawn._

 _Become the shadows._

That. That was the key to defeating Nyx.

 _Become the shadows._

The very thing that he was most afraid of, fading away into the darkness, was exactly what he needed to do in order to ensure that their mission was successful.

 _Become the shadows._

He didn't realize that he'd curled into himself and started forcing out shallow breaths until he felt the warm touch that brought his surroundings back into focus.

"Nico?"

He looked up to meet Will's eyes, deep and blue and filled with worry.

Nico drew in a deep breath and straightened himself up, clutching his skeleton hoodie tighter around him.

He felt cold, _too cold_.

When Eos spoke again, her voice was weak and fully revealed the extent of her weariness. "You won't be able to destroy Nyx, not as you defeated her sister Gaea. Gaea was removed from her element, the Earth itself, when she fell. Nyx will not allow the same to happen to her."

The unspoken words afterward were loud and clear: _after all, how is it possible to remove something as completely permeating as the Night itself?_

Eos' eyes fell closed, and Mena carefully scooped her up out of her golden wheelchair, then laid her down on the nearby bed with more gentleness than Nico had ever seen from the Hunter.

"Will she be okay?" Will asked quietly.

"Only time will tell," Mena replied, her voice soft and somber. "Speaking of time, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. I promise I'll explain everything when we rendezvous with Lou Ellen and Cecil."

"I can help with that," Zephyros offered, stepping toward them. "Just a snap of the fingers and I'll have you back outside in no time."

As much as Nico _didn't_ want to be turned into air again, the thought of getting the hell out of the Lotus completely overruled that.

* * *

As promised, the exit was quick - like a strong gust ushering in storm clouds, they'd blasted back down through the Lotus and landed on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.

Shakily pulling himself to his feet, Nico dusted his clothes off before regarding the culprit. "So, uh, thanks. I guess."

Zephyros gave him a shrug in response. "Figured I owed you one after the whole thing in Split. Speaking of, could you hang back a minute? I've got some questions."

Nico groaned - they didn't have _time_ for questions, especially not about that absolute trainwreck of a situation, but the look of seriousness on the West Wind's face told him that he should probably comply.

He turned to look at Will and Mena, who both wore a look of confusion on their faces. "Go on ahead," he urged, "see if you can get in touch with Cecil and Lou. I'll catch up with you."

With a hesitant nod, Will turned and started heading down the sidewalk, Mena following along beside him.

Zephyros crossed his arms and watched their retreat. "So… a son of Apollo, huh?"

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. "What."

"Wouldn't be my first choice, but he seems to be doing alright by you."

"What in Hades are you talk-"

"You remember what I told you when we last met, Nico di Angelo," Zephyros cut him off. "The tragic fate that would befall you if you gave in to your anger."

Nico eyed him warily, not liking where this was going. "What of it?"

"I can sense that your fate is… different now."

"What, are you suddenly one of the Fates? Did the Oracle of Delphi wedge itself into you and that's why we haven't been getting regular prophecies, because you hate Apollo?"

Zephyros frowned at his words. "When you've been under Love's command for as long as I have, you start to _pick up_ on a few things."

Nico felt himself flush, and he fought that feeling back with as much willpower as he could muster up. "Wh… what does _that_ have to do with anything?"

"Come on now, kid, there's no need to play dumb. You know exactly what I mean! You had the strength to admit the truth to my master, and yet you still struggle with admitting it to yourself…"

"That was…" Suddenly, Nico realized _exactly_ what Zephyros was talking about, and his face grew hotter. "No. _Hell_ no, you are _not_ going there. Solace and I are just-"

" _Friends?_ That's what you're going to say, isn't it? I guess you're _technically_ not wrong, but it's not as simple as that. Love is never that simple."

"Shut up," Nico growled, clenching his fists. "We're _not_ having this conversation."

Smirking, Zephyros reached down and poked him in the nose. "Remember what I said about anger, Nico. You let it rule over you for far too long, and where did it get you? Do you really want to be in that state of mind again?"

Nico rubbed at the tip of his nose as he considered the god's words. When he and Jason had been in Split, when they'd encountered Cupid and Nico had been forced to confess his true feelings… it had been such a painful moment in his life that he probably wouldn't have minded being devoured by the shadows.

But looking back on that version of himself and comparing it to who he was now… things were different. _He_ was different. Back then, he'd completely closed himself off to anyone and everyone. He'd let his own self-loathing boil beneath his skin, the shame saturating his thoughts and overtaking his very being.

Now, he had friends, people he could trust with his life. Hazel, Jason, Reyna. Percy and Annabeth, and the rest of the Seven. Lou Ellen, Cecil, and even Mena in their own, weird, mutually antagonistic sort of way.

And Will.

Now that he thought about it, thought about the version of himself from all those months ago, there was no way that his heart could take being put in that position again.

"No," he finally answered, "no. I don't… want to be that person again."

Zephyros' smirk softened into a smile. "Go join your friends, Nico di Angelo. You've still got a lot of work to do, and the clock is ticking."

Nico gripped his t-shirt, his hand hovering right over his heartbeat. He could feel it pulsing beneath his bones, throbbing with all the intensity of a bass drum. "... Yeah. Okay. Thanks."

He turned away, pausing when Zephyros spoke up again. "Remember my words. Admitting the truth to yourself will be much more rewarding in the end."

Without looking back, Nico gave him a short nod, and then continued in the direction that his friends had gone.

* * *

"I swear, when I get my hands on you dumb boys, I will _actually kill you!_ Do you have any idea how _worried_ we've been?!"

It had taken them a few tries to actually get an Iris message going - for some reason, it seemed to be having a difficult time connecting, and once it had finally gotten through, the image was full of static and the sound was a bit distorted.

Regardless, Lou Ellen's voice came through loud and clear: she was angry, and Will, Nico, and Mena were in trouble.

Will held up his free hand in a placating gesture, the other one holding the prism that was providing the rainbows for the message. "Relax, Lou, we're fine. We didn't get sucked into any games, or anything. We're all here in one piece."

"You were gone for _three days,_ Solace! What are we supposed to think when we don't hear from you for that long?"

"Three _days?_ What the hell, we were in there for like an hour, _tops!_ "

From his spot next to the blond, Nico buried his face in his palm. "I _told you_ , that's how the Lotus works! Time runs much more slowly in there, so a full day inside is like a _year_ in real time!"

Will cringed at his words. "That's so messed up," he replied before turning back to the message. "So, how are you and Cecil holding up? Where are you guys, anyway?"

Lou Ellen heaved a deep sigh, rubbing at her temples. "We're alright. We're actually at another hotel about a mile down from the Lotus. You know the way we came from? Go back up that way and you'll find it. We'll meet you outside."

"Yeah, alright," Will nodded. "Man, have we got a _lot_ of stuff to talk about."

"I'll bet you do. Get your sorry asses down here so I can strangle you and then you can tell us all about it."

The image of Lou Ellen grew more and more fuzzy, and before Will could respond, the image faded away.

He sighed, dispelling the light from his hand. "Welp, time to go face our untimely deaths in true demigod style."

"Is threatening your lives a common thing for her?" Mena asked, amusement clearly written on her face.

"Happens every other day when we're at camp," Nico grumbled, anxiously shifting his feet. "Let's get going. If I never had to see the Lotus again in my life then it would still be too soon."

True to her word, Lou Ellen and Cecil were standing outside of a hotel just a few blocks down from the Lotus. Even in the flashing lights and general chaos of the Las Vegas Strip, they were still pretty easy to spot; the large, blinking glow stick that Cecil was holding up certainly helped with that.

After the obligatory exchange of greetings and shoulder punches (courtesy of Lou Ellen), Will stuffed his hands in his pockets, rocking on his feet. "Soooo, we've got good news and bad news. The good news is that we found Eos."

"The bad news is that she's fading really fast," Nico cut in. "There's no telling how much time she has left. I could feel death creeping up on her."

"Gross," Cecil commented.

"Shut up."

Lou Ellen quietly hummed in response. "Yeah, that doesn't sound too good. Obviously we want to hear everything, but not here. We've got a room here," she nodded toward the hotel's entrance, "so we can talk in private."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "How'd you manage _that?_ "

A sly grin formed on the daughter of Hecate's face. "Well, we'd set up camp in a nearby alley, but we got super bored the first day you guys were gone."

Cecil waggled his eyebrows, leaning in closer to her. "We kept ourselves occupied, though."

Her face flushing, Lou Ellen whapped Cecil in the back of the head. " _Shut your face!_ Anyway, this dork wanted to check out a casino because he's literally five years old, so a little bit of Mist manipulation landed us here. Turns out he's _really good_ at blackjack."

"Learned from the best," Cecil smirked, gesturing as if tipping an imaginary hat.

"The Stolls?" Will asked.

"The Stolls."

Lou Ellen snickered for a moment. "So yeah, we've just been hanging out here since then. Let's go on up and take a load off, huh?"

As it turned out, the "room" they'd acquired looked more like a miniature studio apartment. It was a large, open space equipped with two king-size beds, a small kitchenette, and a sitting area outfitted with a couple of sofas and a flatscreen TV. On the other end of the room were a pair of sliding glass doors leading out to a narrow balcony, where the glittering lights of the city could be seen below.

After making a quick trip to a set of vending machines down the hall, everyone settled in so that they could eat and discuss what had happened at the Lotus. Will thoroughly explained everything to Cecil and Lou Ellen - meeting Zephyros in the lobby and going up to meet with Eos, the discovery of his own heritage, the final bit of the prophecy that they'd been given.

When he was finished, he left Mena to confess her own identity.

Lou Ellen didn't seem surprised. "Well, I already knew _that_ much," she said with a shrug.

Nico was not impressed. "Wait, you _knew?_ Since when?"

"Since we met up with the Hunters in D.C. I mean, I kind of _had_ to in order to do the symbol thing to you guys," Lou Ellen gestured toward Nico and Will's hands, "it's a special kind of spell that only children of Hecate can perform. For it to work, three representatives of the Triple Goddess must be present: Artemis the maiden, Selene the mother, and Hecate the crone."

"You knew _this whole time?_ I can't believe you hid-"

Lou Ellen's eyes narrowed, a taunting smirk on her face. "Do you really wanna go there, di Angelo?"

"I already called him out on that one," Will chimed in, earning a roll of the eyes from Nico.

Mena sighed and raked her fingers through her hair, fixing the son of Hades with an apologetic expression. "Don't blame Lou Ellen for this, di Angelo, I'm the one who asked her to keep it a secret."

"So why _did_ you want it to stay a secret?" Cecil asked around a mouthful of chips. "You could've told us, we would've accepted you either way."

 _That's debatable,_ Nico thought to himself.

"It's not about whether or not I'd be accepted on the quest. Truthfully, I'm not a very powerful goddess - I'm closer to demigod than anything else, I mean, my father Endymion _was_ a mortal. I have my mind-calming powers, the ones I used on you, di Angelo, and then my sleep arrows. The arrows are because of my father, I think they might've been blessed by Hypnos. Never knew either way on that one."

"So the whole story about Niobe was a ruse?"

"That _is_ a true story, but I thought it was a pretty clever cover-up, don't you agree?"

Lou Ellen smirked and offered Mena a high-five, which she hesitantly accepted.

"Besides, 'goddess of the lunar months' isn't exactly the most terrifying title. We represent the four-year Olympiad cycle - you know, how the Olympic games happen every four years - so we're very very minor goddesses. We bleed ichor like the gods, but we aren't well-recognized among mortals, even some scholars."

Mena bit her lip, clasping her hands in front of her. "Which brings me to my next point." She closed her eyes and let her head droop. "As a result of this… I'm fading."

The silence that followed her confession seemed like it lasted forever.

"Holy shit," Nico muttered, voicing the exact thoughts of his friends.

"But… how does that work?" Will asked, concern apparent in his voice. "I mean, you're here among mortals who know of you and your heritage."

Opening her eyes, Mena shook her head. "That's not enough, Solace. My mother faded many millennia ago because the Romans began appropriating her role as a lunar goddess onto Artemis instead. And from there, my forty-nine sisters and I began to follow."

She looked down at her gloved hands, as if examining the silver glow emanating from her fingertips. "I joined the Hunters of Artemis because I was afraid. I was afraid of ending up like my sisters, who had all faded before me. I am the last one who still remains, and my own time is running out."

"So, if we're unable to awaken Selene…" Lou Ellen trailed off.

Mena nodded solemnly. "Then I'll fade away completely."

"And that's why you joined us on the quest?" Will asked, "because we were headed to New Rome so we could see about honoring the Hyperionides properly?"

"You had an agenda this whole time," Cecil pointed out, rubbing at his chin. "Sneaky."

With another nod, Mena leaned back in her chair, her pale eyes lacking in emotion. "When my mother and sisters faded, I was devastated. I couldn't face my father, hence why I avoided him while we were in Albuquerque. The loss of my family was so painful that I was willing to do _anything_ to bring them back.

"I'm… sure at least one of us in this room knows what that feels like," she continued quietly, fixing her eyes with Nico's.

Nico, for his part, didn't know what to think.

He had lost his mother and sister. Mena had lost her mother and sisters. He'd had a difficult relationship with his father for a time. She couldn't even face her own father due to her grief. He had tried to bring Bianca back. She was currently trying to bring her family back.

Mena had seemed so much different from him when they'd first met. But, now that he thought about it, they were more alike than he'd initially thought - both suffering from tragic losses, both spending many many years among those who were trapped in time, both becoming cold and jaded as the feeling of death crept up on them.

Nico had almost lost himself to the shadows. Mena had been actively fading since long before they'd even met.

In that moment, he felt as if he could sympathize with the Hunter; he would've given his own soul if it meant it would bring Bianca back, and he had a feeling that she felt the same of her own loved ones.

But the difference between the two of them was that there was still hope for Mena. There was still a chance that they could revive the fallen gods of the sun and the moon, still a chance for her to live.

Nico had to admit that he was jealous, but at the same time, he could feel his resolve strengthening by the minute. They _had_ to defeat Nyx so that Helios, Selene, and Eos could live and regain their full power. They _had_ to, for the fate of their whole world.

"These are all that I have left," Mena spoke up again, breaking him out of his thoughts. She had pulled out her bag of marbles and emptied a few of them into her palm, rolling them along her fingers. "These marbles… these are what remain of my sisters; their souls, compacted into no more than tiny glass balls."

"And you gave up one of them for that Iris message," Will pointed out softly. "It was all you could spare, you said. Was that why, because they're… your sisters?"

"Yes and no," she replied, gently placing the orbs back into her pouch. "While it's true that they contain the spirits of my fellow _menai_ , the one I sacrificed wasn't one of theirs. It was my own."

"Your _own?_ " Nico asked incredulously. "Why would you even-"

"It was empty," Mena cut him off, "obviously. It was enough to appease Iris, but as a consequence, my soul will have nowhere to go when I eventually fade."

She buried her face in her hands for a moment, rubbing at her eyes. "When I was wounded by the Keres… their poison is incredibly powerful, even for minor goddesses like me. It didn't kill me like it would've a mortal - a perk of having ichor in my veins, I suppose - but it… killed my will to live. It was a moment of weakness, giving up that orb. Eos may have healed the wound on my leg, but the wound in my mind is still there. And at this point, I am _very_ ready to give up my life if it means that we succeed in our mission."

That struck a chord within Nico.

As he'd transported the Athena Parthenos across the Atlantic, the more he shadow traveled, the more he'd heard the voices of the shadows calling to him, begging him to give in.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been tempted to do just that in the process.

Regardless, he'd persevered - he was more than willing to dissolve into the shadows if it meant he'd succeed and save everyone.

That same sentiment was echoed in Mena's words.

Again, her voice brought him back into the present. "Solace, di Angelo, can I see the symbols on your hands?"

Nico exchanged a glance with Will, and they both held their hands out to her.

Gently, Mena took Nico's hand and ran her fingertips across his knuckles, causing the black pentacle beneath his skin to appear. The symbol pulsed with darkness, and his fingers twitched uncomfortably. She seemed to take the hint, as she let go and then did the same to Will.

She gazed down at the two glowing marks, then moved to pull off one of her black fingerless gloves.

Right there, on the back of her own hand, was another symbol: a simple circle with two crescent shapes on either side, glowing with the purest silver-white light.

"The symbol of the Triple Goddess," Lou Ellen breathed quietly.

"Nico di Angelo, Will Solace," Mena started softly, "I think... the three of us were fated to embark on this quest."

Deep down, Nico thought so, too.

* * *

 **A/N:** On the 23rd of this month, this fic will be one year old! It's been a wild ride so far, so let's see it through to the end, yeah? :) I would like to try and get the next chapter out on that day - it's one I've been waiting to write ever since I started this fic. Look forward to it ;D


	16. The Lover's Lament

**A/N:** ALRIGHT Y'ALL. I'm gonna need play-by-play reactions to this one. Feel free to scream at me all you want. Just trust me on this, okay?

* * *

"Oh, come _on!_ Are you _fucking kidding me?_ "

Nico was happy.

He was about as happy as a bear with its leg caught in a trap, or perhaps Percy during that time when he got cursed to speak in iambic pentameter for three days straight, or maybe even a cyclops with a terrible case of pinkeye - which was to say, _not happy at all._

The evening had been alright! He'd gotten the answers he'd wanted all along; Mena had finally come clean about everything! He'd realized that they weren't so different! After thoroughly discussing all of that serious stuff, they'd all had an incredible game of Cards Against Olympus and the Hunter had _absolutely thrashed_ everyone else! _He was sharing a bed with Will again!_

But, of course, opening his eyes to see Nightmare Knoll again made all of that completely irrelevant.

He glared up at the inky black sky as if it alone was the source of his problems. "Seriously?" Nico shouted, spreading his arms in exasperation. "After that absolute _bullshit_ you put me through last time, you're really going to do this again? What the _fuck_ , Morpheus! Ikelos, Phantasos, whoever! Haven't you assholes had enough yet? What do you _want_ from me?"

Heaving a frustrated sigh after his outburst, Nico pulled the hood of his jacket over his head as if it'd shield him from whatever this dream had in store for him. What was it going to be _this time?_ Another daimon telling him the world was about to end, or maybe another gruesome scene of himself and his friends dying horribly? Maybe this time they'd outdo themselves and show him Bianca again, and wouldn't that be the icing on the messed up cake that was his entire existence?

Surprisingly, this time the only thing he picked up on was a faint noise coming from the trees opposite of that terrible hill he'd come to know and hate.

Naturally, Nico was wary. He'd lived through enough of these situations to know that mysterious noises coming from dark patches of trees probably wasn't going to benefit him in the slightest.

Still, his feet automatically carried him toward the woods, completely ignoring all of the red flags his mind was throwing at them.

With his sword drawn, he carefully made his way through the thicket, hacking down limbs and branches that blocked his way. (ADHD asked him if dream trees still had dryad souls in them, to which he lowkey hoped not.) The deeper he drew himself into whatever potential trap may have been awaiting him, the louder the noises got.

It sounded like a woman… crying?

Finally, after what felt like hours, he reached a gap in the trees and slashed down the remainder of brush in front of him, preparing himself for what he might find in the clearing.

The last thing he expected to see was a figure - more of a silhouette, really - crouched down in the grass, bawling their eyes out.

He couldn't understand the surge of sheer _empathy_ that suddenly washed over him. Somehow, whatever the reason, he felt compelled to take hold of the person - spirit? daimon? whatever they were - and comfort them to the best of his ability, shushing them until they calmed down.

Nico swallowed the lump in his throat as he approached the figure, lowering his sword and grasping the fabric of his t-shirt right over his heart. He felt like he wanted to cry with them; he could feel the burning behind his eyes, the feeling of tightness that gripped his throat.

He came to a stop a few feet in front of them, and the figure suddenly lifted its head as if startled and met him with the saddest, emptiest blue eyes he'd ever seen in his life.

The being raised a hand to wipe at its tears and slowly pulled itself onto his feet, and Nico was blown away.

It was a frail-looking young woman standing at about the same height as him, and her entire form seemed ghostly and barely-there, translucent like the spirits he'd seen in Asphodel. She was pale of eyes, hair and skin; the only thing setting her off were the light blue eyes and chiton.

" _You're here,_ " she spoke, voice hoarse from her sobbing. " _Finally, you come to me…_ "

Nico's own voice barely seemed to be working. "Who are you?" he choked out quietly.

The girl's tears continued to fall as she looked him right in the eyes, wringing her hands together shyly. " _Eleos,_ " she replied, " _goddess of mercy, daughter of Nyx and Erebos._ "

Nico immediately tensed up at the mention of Nyx, but Eleos was quick to diffuse his anxiety. " _I- I'm not helping them, I swear I'm not!_ " She reached up to clutch at her face, more tears pouring from her eyes. " _I'm… I'm here to help_ you _, Nico di Angelo. I've- I've wanted to meet you for a long time…!_ "

Eleos, goddess of mercy and daughter of Nyx, wanted to meet _him_. He really, _really_ did not know what to make of this.

" _I've been… watching you for years,_ " Eleos confessed, not meeting his eyes. " _All of the pain and suffering you've gone through, you and all other demigods, mortals, and gods alike… there's so much sadness in this world…_ "

"Well… yeah," Nico commented, letting out a short, humorless laugh. "I mean, I've met Misery herself. She… didn't think there was much more she could even _do_ to me."

" _Akhlys…_ " Eleos let out a sob, as if the mere mention of the goddess only served to upset her further.

Maybe it was because of Eleos' very presence affecting him, or maybe it was genuine sympathy that he felt for her. Whichever it was, it compelled him to take her hands - which were surprisingly tangible despite her spectral appearance - and hold them in both of his in an attempt to comfort… her? Himself? Both of them?

He wasn't even sure anymore.

"Eleos," he urged gently, "talk to me. You said that you wanted to help me… can you tell me why? Or how?"

" _B-because,_ " she stammered between sobs, " _I… I think that_ you _are p-perhaps one of the people who needs mercy the most._ " She let out a hiccup and squeezed his hands tightly. " _Your life… Akhlys said it herself, she'd never seen anyone holding more intense sorrow and agony than you. And this mission that you're on… I can tell that it's weighing on you heavily._ "

Swallowing thickly, Nico averted his eyes. "Is it really that obvious?" he asked, unable to hold back the faint sarcasm that slipped into his words. "We… we only have to suppress Nyx before Chaos comes and destroys everything it's ever created. No pressure at all, right?"

He sniffled for a moment, and only then did he realize that he was also crying.

"Your siblings have made it pretty clear that it's not going to be easy. Heck, the last time I was here, Moros stabbed me in the shoulder, saying that the more it hurts, the less time we have. And it's been hurting pretty consistently for a while now. So, you know, there's that."

He felt himself spilling again, just like he had to Will that night they'd arrived at the Junkyard of the Gods. That had been the lowest point of the journey so far; not even returning to the Lotus had had such an effect on him.

That really said something, he thought.

"And the last time I slept, I saw my sister's death through her own eyes. I didn't break down from that at all." Nico bit his lip, his voice cracking. "... Who am I kidding? This entire quest has been a complete nightmare and I just- sometimes I wonder if I was better off in Tartarus, or…"

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his voice finally give out. His hands trembled as they gripped Eleos', and it was all he could do to not fall apart again right then and there.

The goddess' hands slipped out of his, and he forced his eyes open as he felt them come to rest on either side of his face.

" _I want you to do something for me, Nico di Angelo. I want you to think about what brings you the most comfort in this world, the most solace. Concentrate on that, and you'll find that that's where the greatest form of mercy comes from._ "

"Do I even deserve mercy…?" Nico whispered so quietly that he could barely hear himself.

" _Everybody deserves mercy._ " Without another word, Eleos drew him into her arms.

Clinging to her small frame, Nico took a deep breath and buried his face in her neck. Her thin fingers threaded through his hair, and he closed his eyes and _thought_.

The embrace was warm and strong; he felt _safe_ , as if nothing could touch him. The soft voice in his ears whispered words of comfort and assurance that he'd longed to hear for as long as he could remember. He inhaled deeply and caught the familiar scent of antiseptic, coconut, and _pure sunshine_ that he'd come to associate exclusively with-

His body went limp as the realization fell upon him.

Will.

 _Will_.

Nico tightened his arms around Eleos as he dropped to his knees.

He remembered the first time he met Will: he'd just arrived at Camp Half-Blood with Bianca, Percy, Thalia, and the Hunters. He had been taken straight to the infirmary after meeting Chiron, where the head medic - Lee, he recalled - checked him for any signs of injury. He thought about how Lee was instructing one of his young brothers during the process, teaching the small boy how to further hone his powers over healing. He'd felt how warm the boy's hands had been as he'd healed a scrape on Nico's knee after his first game of Capture The Flag.

He remembered seeing Will during the Battle of Manhattan: he'd been _so brave_ as he darted around the battlefield, helping injured campers to safety and treating their injuries with all of the care and compassion of a mother tending to her own children. Nico had been relieved to see him alive after the battle, and he now recalled that Will had seemed to be just as eased as he'd been.

He remembered meeting Will atop Half-Blood Hill after bringing the Athena Parthenos back to camp: he had been so _stubborn_ as he insisted that Nico forego using his powers, he'd met Nico's glares without fear, he'd thoroughly lectured Nico about how he had _never_ been ostracized, how there were people who genuinely wanted to befriend him. He'd gotten right up in Octavian's face and showed him who the _real_ descendant of Apollo was.

He remembered spending those three days in the infirmary with Will: the son of Apollo had fussed over him incessantly as he'd treated Nico's wounds, brought him food and constantly checked in on how he was feeling, had stayed with him during the long nights when he'd had nightmares and couldn't go back to sleep, talking and talking with him about everything and nothing.

He remembered Will waking him up with his silly Pokemon songs, on that fateful day when the sun didn't rise.

He remembered how Will had dragged him around town in Washington D.C. in an attempt to take his mind off of what Hades had told him, only to have an encounter with two daimons instead.

He remembered how Will had comforted him after his nightmare about the battle with the Keres, and how he'd later awakened with Will wrapped around him and how absolutely _safe_ he'd felt.

He remembered being in Texas and meeting Will's mother, their talk in the middle of the night after Nico's dream-battle with Moros, and his silent oath to protect Will from anything that might befall him.

He remembered Will holding him for hours after he dreamed about Bianca.

He remembered Will displaying his light powers to Eos, and how amazingly _beautiful_ the sight had been.

This boy, this _incredible_ boy with golden curls and eyes the color of the sky, had somehow managed to break through the thick walls that Nico had set up around himself and wedged his way into his heart.

That, he realized, was the comfort that Eleos had asked him to search for.

Nico's tears dried up, and he pulled back from Eleos' embrace, heartbeat echoing in his ears.

She cupped his face again, the slightest of smiles tugging at her lips. " _Did you find what you were looking for? Did you find solace?_ "

Placing a hand over his heart, Nico bit his lip and nodded, the irony of her choice of words not lost on him. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

Eleos dropped her hands in order to take his again, gripping them firmly. " _Listen. Before your quest is over, you'll meet my opposing counterpart, Anaideia, goddess of ruthlessness. She's a constant companion of my sister Hybris, goddess of violence. They're a powerful duo._ "

"Will we have to fight them?" Nico asked, already knowing the answer.

" _Undoubtedly,_ " Eleos confirmed. " _Until then… you should find comfort wherever you can. The last leg of your journey will not be easy… so please, make the most of your time with your friends._ "

With that, Eleos' misty form dissolved and flew away on the breeze, leaving Nico with only his own pulse for company.

* * *

As he faded back into consciousness, Nico found himself _wanting_.

Part of him could still feel the warmth of Eleos' embrace - the gentleness and the safety that he only found in Will's arms, he realized - and he felt his heart clench as if he were _lamenting_ the lack of it…

Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself into a sitting position.

The entire room was quiet. The lights of Las Vegas filtered in through the thin curtains, the everlasting noise of the city a dull hum in the background. It was tranquil and calming, something that they'd been _sorely_ lacking ever since the began this hellish quest.

And yet, all Nico could hear was Eleos' voice echoing in his mind.

 _Think about what brings you the most comfort in this world, the most solace._

He swallowed heavily and thought about the boy laying right next to him.

Turning to look over his shoulder, Nico gazed down at Will. He looked so peaceful, sleeping there; his chest gently rose and fell with every breath he took, soft snores coming from his mouth. The softness coming from the windows bathed him in a pale light, as if he were sleeping under the light of the moon.

Nico bit his lip and turned away, clutching at his chest. He could feel his heart pounding, throbbing in his ears. His face felt warm, and his breaths came short and quick.

The only other time that he could recall feeling like this was whenever he'd looked at…

He needed to clear his mind.

Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Nico quietly made his way toward the bathroom. He passed by Lou Ellen, asleep on the opposite bed, Cecil had claimed the couch again - at least it was a pullout this time - and Mena didn't seem to be around. Probably out on the balcony, he guessed. (Being a goddess, did she even need sleep anyway?)

He quietly shut the bathroom door behind him before turning on the light. Like the rest of the suite, the bathroom was nice and spacious, with a long vanity and a large shower/bathtub hybrid. Nico didn't care for the tall mirrors covering the wall behind the vanity, though - it was too easy to see his own reflection, too easy to see his thin frame.

Too easy to see the dark circles beneath his eyes. Had they been that dark before? He was sure they had, especially when coming out of Tartarus, but…

Nico silently stared at himself, taking in all of his flaws and imperfections. His skin was pale; his cheeks sunken. The veins in his arms prominently stood out against his thin bones. He could feel his own ribs through the fabric of his t-shirt. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a walking corpse.

He turned around, not wanting to look at himself anymore.

Maybe a shower would help him sort through his thoughts.

After undressing, he stepped into the tub and turned the water up as hot as it would go. The scalding heat felt good against his tired, sore body - oh, he had _needed_ this. A thorough scrub-down and a wash of his hair had always helped him feel a bit better, like it was rinsing away the darkness clinging to him. Plus, the water helped soothe his aching shoulder; the pain had grown to be fairly consistent, throbbing in time with his own heartbeat. He'd had worse pains, but they had always been a quick flash, fading just as suddenly as they came.

He was really starting to worry about it.

When he rinsed the last of the soap from his hair, he slowly sat down in the tub and let the hot water fall over him, his thoughts drifting back to earlier, when he'd just awakened from his dream.

 _Did you find solace?_ Eleos had asked him.

He supposed he had, in a manner of speaking.

From the very first time they'd met at Camp Half-Blood, Will had gone the extra mile to try and make Nico comfortable with his new surroundings. In the days after Bianca left for that fateful quest that she'd never return from, Will had constantly checked in on him to make sure he was alright. On one day when they were bored and there were no scheduled classes at camp, they got on the topic of video games - he'd played so many at the Lotus, after all - and Will had introduced him to Pokemon. (Nico had tried to teach him how to play Mythomagic as well, but that hadn't gone over so well.)

After the Titan War, in those few weeks that Nico had stayed at camp, Will had approached him and tried to make pleasant conversation. Even when Percy disappeared and Nico's visits became more and more sporadic, when he came solely to check in at the Big House, he'd exchange a few words with Will before setting out again.

Nico had never noticed how worried Will had looked during those times.

And now, in the present, after spending time in the infirmary (even after his requisite three days of rest), after hanging out around camp like they had done as children, getting to know each other… things became more and more clear to him.

He remembered how he used to feel whenever he looked at Percy. Even after everything that had happened between them, Nico had never been able to push back the feeling of butterflies rising in his stomach, the warmth he would feel whenever Percy laughed. He'd _wanted_ to hate Percy, _wanted_ to shun him, but his heart hadn't let him.

Nico definitely didn't hate Will. He didn't _want_ to. Warm, kind, caring Will, with a smile as bright as sunshine and a heart bigger than Olympus…

The things Nico thought he'd felt for Percy seemed to double in strength when it came to Will, only this time they felt real and tangible and-

He felt his throat close up as he curled up under the the steady stream; the heat of the steam pooling around him made him feel faint as he finally conceded to his mind and his heart.

He was definitely, absolutely, falling for Will Solace.

This… wasn't exactly a good thing. For one thing, they still had the mission to focus on- there was no way that Nico could dwell on a probably-unrequited crush while they were trying to save the world. He'd already suffered through enough of that. There was too much at stake to be thinking about anything _resembling_ romantic feelings, this wasn't the _time_ for it.

There was also the fact that the idea of having feelings for Will _terrified_ him.

Nico was death, darkness, and despair, and Will was life and light and laughter. There was no way Will could love someone like him, someone who was so _broken_ that they were afraid of their own emotions. He'd been through this song and dance before - the pain that Percy had put him through, knowing that his love could never be returned. Nico was scared, _so scared_ of opening himself to that kind of emotional torture again.

He could already see how it would happen: he'd work up the courage to confess to Will, only to be rejected so gently that the mere thought of it made his heart hurt - _"I'm flattered, Nico, but… I don't feel the same way. I'm sorry."_ And afterward, everything would be awkward between them and Nico would probably disappear again, would run away from love just as he had done with Percy, unsure if he would ever return.

But he wouldn't blame Will, he never would. Nico wasn't even sure how to properly _be_ in love, how to look or how to act or how to show _affection_ or deal with the looks of disgust he would undoubtedly receive from people who didn't think he had the right to love, how absolutely _fucked up_ he was and he'd only be dragging Will down with him…

Will was so far out of his league that he'd need a passport just to get anywhere close to him.

Why should he even try?

 _Because, idiot, the guy clearly doesn't hate you,_ another part of his mind replied, _and how many other boys like- like_ you _have you ever met? You won't know until you ask._

That thought, that little spark of hope, was enough to keep Nico from tugging at his hair in anguish.

His skin thoroughly numb to the blistering heat, Nico carefully pulled himself to his feet and shut off the water. As he stepped out and dried himself off - _gods_ , these towels were soft and luxurious, Cecil would be impressed - he took note of his reflection again, barely visible through the foggy glass: his skin was red and heavily flushed, but at least he felt more relaxed now.

After dressing himself, he walked back out into the suite. He really wasn't sure if he wanted to go back to sleep or not; they'd be finally setting out for New Rome in a matter of hours. He knew that once they got there, they'd have a lot to go over: they'd have to gather everyone together for an Iris-message with the others at Camp Half-Blood, explain everything that was happening (which would probably fall mostly on Nico), try to come up with a plan to subdue Nyx long enough to awaken Helios and Selene, how to even do that to begin with…

It was going to be draining, Nico already knew that much. And since they were drawing closer and closer to that point, it was getting to be a bit difficult to keep his own thoughts together.

Even though he didn't think he'd be able to sleep anymore, Nico approached his bed anyway.

Will wasn't there.

Huh.

Figuring he'd just gotten up to go to the ice machine or something, Nico sat down, ready to curl up in the soft blankets again.

That was when he heard the voices.

They were faint, but Nico could still pinpoint where they were coming from - the sliding door leading out to the suite's balcony was slightly ajar.

He was all set to just ignore the voices, but… his curiosity got the better of him.

Keeping as quiet as possible, he slowly padded over to the glass doors and leaned in just enough to make out the words.

"...hard to deal with. He really doesn't make it easy for me."

Will and Mena stood outside, leaning against the balcony railing, watching the city below.

"I'm just scared that I'll hurt him. Nico's had so much pain in his life already, he doesn't need any more of it."

Oh.

Will was talking about him.

Okay, then.

"I mean… I don't want him to hate me, you know? I don't want to ruin our friendship. What am I supposed to tell him? 'You're my friend and my patient and I care about you, but'..."

"You realize an aro-ace Hunter of Artemis isn't exactly the best person to ask about this, right?"

Pause. "True. I just… Nico's always been kind of dense. It's hard to be subtle with him, and I don't want to just outright _say it_. I don't want him to freak out and run off again."

"I take it he does this pretty often?"

"It's happened more than a few times."

"Not surprised."

There was a brief pause as Will breathed a sigh and pushed his curls back. "Sometimes he's _so hard_ to get a read on. And he's stubborn, has _zero_ sense of self-preservation, and just… I don't know what to do anymore, Mena. It's like my mom says - you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

Oh…

"Just be honest with him, Solace. The longer you keep this under wraps, the longer it's going to hurt."

"I know, but I- I can't. I just _can't_. He'd lose his shit and probably never talk to me again, and I don't want that… it just makes me wonder if I should stop trying, if there's even any point to this anymore."

 _Oh._

Well.

That…

Nico was all too familiar with the sudden bubble of despair welling up inside of him, that feeling of his heart sinking down into his stomach, that feeling of his lungs being crushed…

He stepped back from the door, unable to listen anymore. Not that he could, anyway; he could feel his pulse thundering in his ears, his thoughts were racing.

 _What did you expect? Did you really think you had a chance with him? Of course he doesn't want you, you're a son of Hades. You reek of death, the very thing he fights to prevent. You don't deserve him. You don't deserve anyone, you don't deserve love, you don't deserve happiness, you don't deserve mercy._

It was like Akhlys was taunting him, whispering everything else he'd heard in Tartarus and more.

Nico clutched at his chest as he moved back over to the bed.

Why did it _hurt_ so much?

Why was it _so much worse_ than the moment he'd realized he'd never have Percy?

He could feel the hot tears welling up behind his eyes as he laid back down. It felt like someone had reached into his body and squeezed his heart so tightly that it burst, causing him to choke on his own blood, and the sound of Will's words echoing through his mind was...

 _It just makes me wonder if I should stop trying, if there's even any point to this anymore._

 _I don't know what to do anymore._

 _I don't want him to hate me._

Nico didn't want to hate Will, either. It was impossible to, really, the boy was just so _good_ to everyone that even the most cruel and hateful Ares kid couldn't bring themself to dislike him.

But this feeling that Will's words had given him?

He hated it. He hated it _so much_.

Nico thought about what Eleos had told him in his dream.

 _Concentrate on that, and you'll find that that's where the greatest form of mercy comes from._

What a crock.

* * *

Fortunately, by the time everyone was awake and ready to head out, Nico had been able to summon Jules-Albert again.

Instead of the limo that had carried them through most of the quest, the chauffeur had showed up in a large black SUV. Everybody was still able to fit in the vehicle, but inwardly, Nico had mourned the loss of the privacy divider that the limo had.

That hadn't stopped him from immediately claiming shotgun without another word.

The rest of the time he'd been in bed had been terrible. He'd fallen back asleep, but it was very fitful; he woke up multiple times, after nightmares of his friends all saying awful things to him - _everyone hates you, you don't deserve love, you don't deserve friends, it should've been you instead of Bianca_.

Every time he woke up in tears, there had been a warm hand on his arm, his back, his shoulder; but instead of comforting him like it usually did, the heat of the boy next to him had only served to break his heart even further.

It had gotten to a point where he was afraid of opening his mouth, for fear of lashing out. So, he'd tuned everyone else out and remained silent, contenting himself with staring out the window and watching the lights go by.

By the time they finally, _finally_ reached Camp Jupiter, Nico felt like he was about to explode. He could feel the others' eyes on him, feel them watching him with concern. Even with the hood of his jacket pulled up, it had still been hard to drown their voices out.

At least he could take some comfort in Hazel, Reyna, and Frank being there to greet them when they arrived. It was hard to be angry with his sister throwing herself into his arms.

"Oh, _gods,_ Nico, I'm so glad to see you," Hazel cried as she hugged him tightly. "I was so worried after our Iris-message cut off. Do you know what happened? Are you okay, are you hurt at all?"

Nico couldn't help but smile as he buried his face in Hazel's hair, taking in her familiar scent. "I'm alright," he croaked out, desperately hoping she wouldn't pick up on the uncertainty in his voice. He didn't like lying to her, but…

It was better than letting her see how emotionally compromised he was.

Hazel pulled back, placing her hands on either side of his face. "Are you sure? You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

"Don't worry about me, Hazel. There are more important things to deal with right now."

She raised an eyebrow, her gaze skeptical. "Okay, if you say so…"

Nico could tell she wasn't convinced, but there was no time to try and assure her otherwise; Reyna had made her way over to the siblings and greeted Nico with a ruffle of his hair.

"Good to see you, Nico. You were taking so long that we were worried you wouldn't make it."

Forcing a weak half-smile, Nico batted her hand away and shook his hair out. "We hit a few snags along the way."

He definitely didn't miss the suspicious glance that Reyna and Hazel traded. Despite the chill in the air, he could feel himself start to sweat.

Reyna sighed and smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Well, at least you all made it here in one piece. Now, I believe there are some pressing matters to attend to?"

As relieved as Nico was to see them, it did very little to improve his mood.

* * *

For the sake of space and privacy, Reyna and Frank had decided that it would be best to gather in the senate hall. (Naturally, Terminus gave them a bit of a hassle at the Pomerian Line, thanks to Cecil's self-titled "Bag of Tricks.") From there, they could Iris-message Camp Half-Blood and update them on the situation and try to figure out a plan of action.

Nico, for his part, largely ignored what was going on around him. He'd spoken his share, he'd explained the basics to the glitching, static-filled image of Percy, Annabeth, and the others almost robotically, his voice flat and monotone.

He could feel the burn of eyes on him - mostly from a certain blond healer who he was definitely ignoring right now. But, he had a hard time bringing himself to even care.

Nico knew what had to be done. It was right there in Eos' prophecy: _two souls alight, one soul withdrawn; to become the shadows and awaken the dawn._

Become the shadows.

Those three words had been a constant presence at the back of his mind ever since this whole thing had started, ever since the dreams he'd had of the sun shattering and leaving everything in darkness. And it was starting to make more and more sense to him the longer he thought about it.

If he had to sacrifice himself to the dark in order to ensure that their world survives, then so be it. It wasn't like anyone would care if he completely faded away, after all.

 _No, that's not true,_ the rational side of his brain reminded him. _So many people would be completely lost if you disappeared. What would Hazel do without you? Or Reyna? Or Jason, Annabeth, Percy?_

 _What would_ Will _do without you?_

In the end, it didn't really matter. His fate had already been sealed by the prophecy. Maybe Moros had been right all along; maybe he was destined to succumb to the darkness, maybe there truly was nothing he could do to change his own destiny.

And maybe, just maybe, he didn't really care either way.

Ultimately, the meeting had to be cut short because, for some reason, the Iris-message had become more and more unintelligible as time passed. Nico had barely noticed that they'd had to reinstate the connection a couple of times, until it finally stopped altogether.

He had to admit, that was weird.

Once everyone decided to adjourn for the night, Nico stormed out of the senate hall, fully intending to seclude himself and brood until he fell asleep. He deflected all attempts to engage him with one of his trademark glares - he wanted to be alone, and gods be damned, he _was going to be alone._

Except, as he stepped into a small grove on the outskirts of New Rome, an irritatingly familiar voice called after him.

"Nico!"

Nico buried his hands in his pockets and walked faster.

"Nico di Angelo, I swear, if you don't stop right now and _talk to me_ -"

"What do you _want_ , Solace?" Nico snapped as he whirled around to glare at the boy who was following him.

Will met his glare with a steady one of his own. "You've been acting really weird ever since we left Vegas. You barely even contributed to the meeting just now besides the general rundown. So, fess up. What's bothering you?"

Nico shook his head and turned back around without answering his question.

"Don't _ignore_ me!" Will hissed as Nico began to walk away again.

The second he felt Will's warm hand grip his wrist, Nico tore his arm from the grasp and stopped in his tracks, giving Will the fiercest scowl he could muster up. "Back off, Solace. It's _none of your business_."

"Really? Is it _really_ none of my business? Was your breakdown at the Gila river none of my business, too? Or is this about what happened at the Lotus, or what? I thought we were _getting somewhere_ , Nico. I thought we were starting to get past this whole _closing yourself off_ thing-"

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong." Nico felt his voice crack. Why was Will prying at him _now_ , of all times, after telling _Mena_ all about how difficult it was to interact with him?

Why did it _still hurt?_

He swallowed thickly and steeled himself. "Now go away, and _leave me alone._ "

Will didn't budge. When he spoke again, his voice was unnervingly level. "If you think I'm going to leave you alone when you're obviously upset, then you need to think again."

Nico rolled his eyes, his next words dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, _okay,_ I'll go ahead and think again! Hmm, yeah, I think if you know what's good for you, then you'll _leave me the fuck alone!_ What a concept?"

Groaning loudly, Will fisted his hands in his hair. " _Gods_ , I swear, talking to you is like-"

"Leading a horse to water, but you can't make it drink? You know, like your mom says?"

Even in the darkness of the trees surrounding them, he could see Will's face blanch.

He gaped at him for a moment, wide-eyed. "I… I was going to say talking to a brick wall, but-"

"What's that, Solace? I'm so hard to _get a read on_ that you wonder why you even try? That you don't even see the point anymore?"

"I…" Will looked like a deer in headlights. "You heard me back at the hotel."

Nico spread his arms out in an intentionally dramatic sweep. "Congratulations, Captain Obvious. Do you want a prize for figuring that out?"

"How much did you hear?"

"I heard enough."

"Listen, Nico, I can explain-"

"Explain _what_ , Will? How I'm so exhausting to be around? How I'm nothing but a burden to you? How you'd be better off without me?" Nico's arms dropped to his sides. He could feel his heartbeat all throughout his body, so much that it was a surprise the ground hadn't split from the tremors.

Will held his hands up defensively. "Nico, that's not what I was talking about at all!"

Clenching his fists at his sides, Nico squeezed his eyes shut to try and make the burning go away. "Then _what?_ What are you so scared to tell me? What are you so scared of 'ruining our friendship' over?"

"I was telling Mena about how much I _like_ you. How much I want to _help_ you. That's all!"

Running his hands down his face, Nico looked up at him again. "That's the thing, Solace! You like _everyone_ , you want to help _everyone!_ Obviously I'm no different from the others, I already knew that, so why are you going so out of your way to tell me this?"

Will fixed him with a blank stare before continuing. "You don't understand, Nico. You _are_ different from the others, you're _special_ -"

"What, I'm your pet charity project? I'm something broken that needs to be fixed?"

"Nico, would you just shut up for _five seconds_ and let me finish? I _don't_ see you like that! You're not a damn _charity project_ , you're not _broken!_ What do I have to do to make you understand that I actually _like you_ as more than-"

"More than what, your fucking _patient?_ In case you haven't noticed, I'm a son of _Hades_. You know what happened to the other sons of Hades? They became _terrible people!_ And I'm no different, Will! I don't even deserve the time of day from you! You think I don't hear what people say about me at camp? About _you?_ 'Gods, why does Will hang out with that creepy kid? Why does he waste his time on _him?'_ I'm not an idiot, Solace, I can fucking tell when I'm not wanted around."

An angry frown on his face, Will stepped closer and reached up to grip the collar of Nico's shirt. "Oh no, you don't get to do that. You don't get to tell me who I can and can't 'waste my time on'! That is _my business_ , that is _my decision._ Not yours, not anybody's."

The ground beneath their feet began to rumble. It was all Nico could do to not shove him away and run off. "Then tell me _why_ , Will. Tell me why you even bother with me, tell me why you 'like' me like you keep saying!"

"Because I _do,_ Nico! I shouldn't have to justify myself!"

" _But why?!_ "

" _Because I just do, okay?!_ Now stop being such an asshole!"

" _I'm_ being an asshole? _You're_ being an asshole! What the fuck does it even _matter_ to you? Why the fuck do you _care_ , why do you-"

As many times as Nico interrupted Will during the course of their argument, he didn't really expect it to be turned back on him, especially not like _this._

Will's lips were warm. Nico had expected that much. But they were also wonderfully soft and plush, so much that Nico's furious tirade had come to a screeching halt and now all he could think of was _Will Will Will,_ how his shaking hands cupped Nico's face, how those warm lips pressed against his own with all the gentleness of sunlight and summer, how he was _so close so close so close_ that Nico wasn't sure if the heat was coming from him or his own body, and Will's hands were sliding back to thread into Nico's hair and his eyes were _closed_ they shouldn't be closed, he should be seeing that bright blue, that pure and beautiful blue that reminded Nico of the sky and the clear waters of Venice and sapphires and

Will pulled away, and Nico found himself completely frozen in his spot.

His eyes were open now, and they looked so _watery_ so _desperate_ that Nico immediately wanted to brush the tears away and

 _and_

Will took a deep, shaky breath, sounding more defeated than Nico had ever thought possible. "If that doesn't answer your question, then I don't know what will."

With that, he turned on his heel, and all Nico could do was weakly reach out to Will as he walked away, leaving him with more questions than answers.


	17. The Primordial's Proposition

His heart wouldn't stop pounding.

Nico kept replaying the moment in his head: that moment when he'd been screaming at Will, so upset that the ground quaked beneath their feet, how all of his anger had completely evaporated the moment Will had closed the distance between them.

He was still trying to fully process it: Will Solace had kissed him. Will Solace had _kissed_ him. _Him!_ Nico had all but convinced himself that it would never happen, that he'd forced himself to accept that he would never actually have that kind of relationship with anyone.

Not that he thought he actually _had_ a chance with Will anymore. Not after their fight.

Retracing his steps back into New Rome, Nico touched his still-tingling lips.

The kiss had been nice, in retrospect. He'd barely had any time to think about if before Will had pulled away, but it had felt… warm. Comforting. Something tangible that he could grasp onto and keep it safely hidden within his heart.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to do it again.

Nico was so lost in thought that he didn't see the person in front of him until he bumped into their back. "Ah, shit, sorry." When he looked up to meet their eyes, he let out an exasperated sigh.

Mena blinked down at him, raising a pale eyebrow. "You okay there, di Angelo? Temporary blindness?"

"I'm not _blind_ , Hunter," Nico muttered through his teeth. The gods were _really_ testing his patience tonight. "I was just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Fuck off." He rolled his eyes and started to walk past her, though there was something tugging at the back of his mind. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to face her again. "Hey, uh. You didn't happen to see Will pass through here, did you?"

With a nod, Mena reached up to rub at the back of her neck. "Yeah. He was heading toward the Pomerian Line, said something about needing guidance? I'd guess that he's headed for Temple Hill."

She paused, watching him with an unreadable expression. "He seemed upset about something."

Nico felt a pang of guilt in his chest at her words. He knew that he'd upset Will; whether it was because of the fight or the kiss or Nico not following him when he left…

He needed to find Will as soon as possible so he could explain.

"Right, okay," he nodded at Mena, and turned in the opposite direction from where he'd been going.

He wasn't but a few feet away when he heard Mena's voice again. "He really does like you, you know."

Nico stopped and turned to look at her over his shoulder.

She was twirling a strand of hair around her finger, avoiding his eyes. "I mean… I- I can't even pretend to know what it's like to have those kinds of feelings. I've never been interested in things like that. But Solace… even I can tell that there's something there."

Nico swallowed the lump in his throat, words coming out shakier than he'd intended. "How can you be so sure?"

Mena sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Are you really that oblivious? You don't see it in the way that he talks to you, or touches you?"

Nico's silence said it all, and she took that as her cue to continue. "Look, Solace is a nice guy. He's one of the most tolerable guys I've ever met. His friends say he's very popular at your camp, that he gets asked out on a regular basis and stuff like that. But the way that he looks at you, di Angelo…"

She met his eyes, then, and there was an air of melancholy in her next words. "He watches you the same way that my mother always watched my father."

The same way Selene watched Endymion…

He pictured the lunar goddess, bright and beautiful against the night sky, gently gazing down at her sleeping lover with all of the love and adoration that Aphrodite could've bestowed on the couple.

He knew what he had to do.

Nico turned back around, his heart racing. "I- I need to- I should-"

"Go get him, di Angelo," Mena called after him. He knew she was smirking without even looking back; it was plainly obvious in her voice. "Before it's too late."

 _Before it's too late._

He knew exactly what she meant.

 _Before the inevitable showdown with Nyx._

Nico ran as fast as his feet could take him.

* * *

Thanks to a short jump through the shadows, he made it to the top of Temple Hill with little trouble. Unfortunately, that trouble was the blinding, blistering pain shooting through his shoulder.

Leaning against a nearby pillar for support, Nico looked up at the sky took a moment to catch his breath and compose himself.

It really was beautiful, seeing the stars so clearly. Being as far away from the city as it was, Camp Jupiter had very little in the way of light pollution, so it was all too easy to let the tranquility of the night carry one away until their dreams lay among the stars.

But there was none of that tonight. Nico could hear the stars whispering, taunting him with threats of Nyx forever ruling over the sky until Chaos came to consume all.

He glared up at the sky, grasping at his shoulder.

It was so painful now. It had been constantly pulsing in time with his heartbeat ever since they'd left Las Vegas, with zero reprieve. He'd gradually felt it radiate deeper and deeper as time passed, extending down the length of his arm, around his chest, his neck…

Still, he grit his teeth and tried to block it out the best he could as he pulled himself together and started looking around for Will.

It wasn't long before he spotted that curly blond hair. The other boy was sitting on a stone bench in front of one of the shrines - probably Apollo's, Nico didn't know, he'd only ever paid attention to Pluto's - his hands were clasped, head bowed in what seemed to be prayer.

Biting his lip, Nico slowly made his way over to the bench and sat down next to Will.

Silence.

Nico's stomach churned uncomfortably. What could he even say to Will that would make any sense of things? Will hadn't acknowledged the fact that he was even there. It was strange to see him this upset; Nico had seen it before, of course, he'd seen Will break down in the infirmary more than once, but this was different. This, Nico himself had caused. This was his fault. Will was hurting because of _him_. And he had no idea how to make it better.

Just when Nico was starting to consider getting up and leaving, Will spoke, his voice raw.

"I've liked you for a long time."

Nico froze, replying in a whisper - he couldn't trust his own voice at the moment. "How long?"

"Since the battle in Manhattan. Probably longer, to be honest. I don't know."

Nico could've sworn his heart skipped a beat. Will had really liked him for that long? Him, the sad, angry little boy who was rarely seen at camp until the battle with Gaea? Had Will thought about him all that time…?

Will finally sat up, though he kept his eyes focused on the shrine in front of them. "You kept asking me why I like you. The thing is, it's impossible to pin it down to one single reason. It's hard to explain…"

He turned, then, fixing his eyes on Nico's. "But I'll try, for your sake."

Nico's heart leapt up into his throat, and all he could do was nod in response.

Taking a deep breath, he turned toward the shrine again. "Do you remember the first time we met? I'd already been at camp for a year at that point, but I was still having a hard time getting used to everything. You know, the powers, being so far away from home, stuff like that. I missed my mom a lot.

"I didn't have a whole lot of friends yet. There were my siblings and Cecil, but I still kinda kept to myself. The off-seasons were the worst, the only ones I really had to talk to were Cecil and Lee. But that day, that day you arrived in my dad's sun chariot… I think about that day a lot, actually."

A small smile formed on the blond's face. "You were really something else. So energetic, so curious about everything… I thought to myself, wow. I wish I were friends with that kid. He's funny, and he's nice."

Will's smile faded back into solemnity. "But then your sister left on that quest. You weren't so talkative after that. She was your only family, yeah? And you hadn't been claimed yet. I remember you just sitting on the steps of the Hermes cabin, drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick."

He peered over at Nico, then. In the dim light of the torches hanging from the shrines around them, a very faint blush was visible on his face. "Do you… remember the first thing I said to you?"

Nico swallowed hard and nodded again. Of course he remembered. How could he forget the time when that blond boy from the infirmary came up to him, smiling shyly and wrapping a bandage around his wrist? "You asked me if I liked video games," he replied quietly.

The corner of Will's lips turned up, and Nico tried not to stare at them.

"We had a lot of fun after that. You showed me Mythomagic, and I- I never could get the hang of that game. Still don't really understand it. But I let you borrow my DS, and all I had was Pokemon Platinum, but you loved that game. You got so excited when you caught something new. I was there when you caught that shiny Machop and you didn't stop smiling the entire day. And all I could think was… this kid is really fun. I was so glad we were friends.

"That day when you disappeared, when Percy came back from the quest without your sister… I was really upset. I felt so bad for you, I couldn't even imagine losing a sibling like that, but I was also scared. I was scared that you weren't going to come back, that you'd run off into the woods and get killed."

Nico had contented himself with just watching Will as he spoke, his chest tightening whenever Will mentioned Bianca. And the look he had on his face now…

Nico didn't want it there. Nico didn't want him to be sad, he wanted him to smile again. So, slowly, hesitantly, he reached over and brushed his fingertips against Will's knuckles.

Almost immediately afterward, Will curled his warm hand around Nico's, lacing their fingers together.

"I asked about you a lot. They sent search parties out for a couple weeks afterward, you know? And I was still too young to really get involved with that stuff, they didn't want me going into the forest. But every time they came back, I'd ask them _did you find Nico?_ And the answer was always no. Eventually they just… stopped trying.

"And a couple of years went by, and when I saw you at the entrance to the Labyrinth, I almost didn't recognize you. There was something so _different_ about you, but I couldn't really think on it because Lee had just been killed and I… _I_ …"

Nico gave his hand a squeeze. "It's… it's okay. You don't have to keep going."

But Will merely shook his head. "No, I- I want you to hear this. I _need_ you to hear it." He inhaled slowly, breathing a sigh before continuing. "After that, you disappeared again, and I didn't know what to do. Lee taught me how to do everything, you know. He showed me how to set bones, clean wounds, he taught me the healing hymns, he helped me with archery… and then, just like that, he was gone, and I understood why you ran away.

"And then, when Kronos came and we lost Michael and I became head counselor… I could barely hold myself together. I'd lost _two_ brothers, two people I looked up to so much. But later on, when you showed up with Hades in your black armor and your army of zombies and skeletons… that was the coolest thing I ever could've imagined, Nico. Seeing you there, taking on Kronos - you were probably scared to death, but it never, ever showed."

Nico gave him a flat look. "Scared to _death_ , really, Solace?"

Will let out a short chuckle, and Nico's heart throbbed at the sound. "Okay, that was completely unintentional, but I'm glad you caught it." He gave Nico a smile, and all Nico could think about was how blue those eyes were, even in the darkness.

"No, but seriously, it was… really, really awesome," he continued. "I still wish I could've done something that brave."

"You were brave in your own way," Nico replied, "running into the fray and pulling wounded campers back to safety. Kind of reckless, if you think about it."

"You're one to talk about recklessness, Death Boy," Will teased with a smirk. "Don't think that I forgot about meeting you on Half-Blood Hill when you were one step away from fading into the darkness."

Nico rolled his eyes. "We had a _mission,_ Solace, like you don't even know-"

"Yes, I do know. Coach Hedge told me all about it. And you'd done it, you'd brought the Athena Parthenos back to camp, and then I had to make sure that you _stayed_. I didn't- I didn't wanna lose you again."

"And I did stay. I'm here." Nico reached over and clasped both of his hands around Will's. "I'm _here_ , Will."

Will held his gaze for a moment before looking down at their joined hands. "I know. That means more to me than you think." He bit his lip, shyly averting his eyes. "The bottom line is that I… I think you're amazing, Nico. Knowing that you've powered through so many terrible things… you're so _strong_. You're the strongest person I know."

Nico could feel his throat closing.

"And you're kind, and _so selfless_ … I could go on and on about all of the little things that draw me to you. I just really, _really_ like you. You've become something special in my life that I don't want to let go of."

Will fell quiet, then, and Nico found himself completely speechless.

The words kept echoing through his mind. _I've liked you for a long time. I was so glad we were friends. I think you're amazing. You're the strongest person I know. You've become something special in my life._

To hear those words coming from _Will Solace_ , the bright and beautiful son of Apollo who had managed to break through the barriers that Nico had spent years building around his heart; those words that he'd longed to hear from Percy once upon a time, now coming from this golden boy who had been right in front of him this entire time…

Nico felt dizzy, lightheaded. His heart was racing, pounding against his ribcage as if it was about to explode, and everything was so _warm_ , from the feeling of Will's hand in his and the look of admiration in Will's eyes and his soft, inviting voice, and how was he suddenly _so close_ , when did Nico even start leaning toward him? Everything seemed to blur together in his head, not unlike a pleasant dream.

He must've been silent for too long, though, because Will's face fell slightly as he leaned back. "I understand if you don't feel the same way. It's okay. I just wanted you to-"

" _No_ ," Nico found himself blurting as he gripped Will's hand tighter, "I…"

How could he even _begin_ to describe what he felt?

Eleos' words flashed through his mind.

 _Please, make the most of your time with your friends._

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, then let out the breath that he hadn't known he was holding.

"...When we were still in Vegas, I had a dream. The goddess Eleos came to me, daughter of Nyx and goddess of mercy. She… helped me see a lot of things."

"Things?"

"Things like… I don't know. I thought about the quest a lot. I thought about Bianca. I thought about Tartarus, and how… how I sometimes think that I would've been better off staying there. And before you say anything, let me finish."

Will had opened his mouth to protest, but he was quick to shut it.

Nico looked down at their hands, fingers entwined. "She asked me to think about what brings me the most comfort in this world. She said that's where I'll find the greatest form of mercy."

He peered up at Will through his eyelashes. "And all I could think of was you."

Will's eyes widened, the flush on his face darkening. "What…?"

Nico could feel the slightest prickle of tears behind his eyes. "All I could think of was how warm you are, how you smell, how soft your voice is. I thought about how we met, and everything we've been through since. I thought about how you made me realize that- that I was actually wanted, that I was _worth_ something.

"So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…" It was all Nico could do to force out his response. "I… like you too, Will. I really do. It just… took me a while to realize it. But…"

"But?"

Nico hesitantly pulled away from him. "I don't… I don't know how any of this is supposed to work. I never thought that someone as good as you could _ever_ feel that way about something like me. I've spent way too long convincing myself that I'd never have a relationship, that I'd never have- have my feelings reciprocated. And now that it's actually happening, I just…"

He shyly looked up, voice barely above a whisper. "Where do we go from here?"

Will exhaled slowly, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand. "Wherever you want it to go, I guess? I mean… it doesn't have to go anywhere if you don't want it to. But if you do, then we can go as fast or as slow as you'd like. You have no experience with this, and truthfully, I don't either, so I don't want to rush you or push you into anything you're not ready for."

With a grateful sigh, Nico finally let go of some of the tension that had seized him through their entire conversation. "Yeah, I- I _do_ want it to be something, but… you're right, I'm gonna need some time to get used to the idea. I don't want to disappoint you, or like- _ruin_ this somehow…"

"It's okay." Will gave his hands a squeeze. "Take as much time as you need."

Nico hummed softly in response, and then they sat there in silence, holding hands and taking in each other's presence.

Still, there was something at the back of his mind that he couldn't ignore.

Nervously licking at his lips, he took a deep breath before speaking again. "Um, that kiss, though…"

He felt Will tense briefly, and he looked up to see an apologetic expression on the blond's face. "Ah, um, yeah, about that… I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It was inappropriate of me to suddenly spring it on you without asking first. I just didn't know how else to make you listen to-"

"No, no, it's fine," Nico cut him off, shaking his head. "For what it's worth, I- I didn't dislike it. I was just really surprised."

Their gazes were locked together, brown and blue boring into each other. Nico couldn't stop himself from glancing down at Will's parted lips, and he could've sworn he saw Will doing the same…

Will took a moment to clear his throat before speaking again. "…then, I'd like to do it again, if you'd let me. Properly, this time."

The sudden rush of heat to Nico's face was so intense that he had to draw in a quick breath just to keep himself grounded. "Um… y-yeah, okay. I'd like that."

With a short nod, Will reached up with his free hand to gently cup Nico's cheek. Shivering when he felt the soft fingertips against his skin, Nico closed his eyes and allowed Will to close the gap between them.

The kiss was little more than a brief press of lips, but to Nico, it was everything. It felt like all of the repressed feelings, all of the electricity between them had finally reached the boiling point and was now bubbling over, coating him in its warmth and lifting him up into the sun.

They parted, and Nico could feel Will's hot breath against his lips, and he _didn't want that space to be there_ , and-

Will started to pull away, and suddenly it felt like he was saying goodbye, like this was the last time they'd have a moment to themselves, which _it very well could've been_ , and Nico surged forward-

They were kissing again, Nico finally letting go of Will's hand to clutch at his orange camp t-shirt, and Will's arms were coming up around him, pulling him so close that he couldn't tell where he ended and Will began. There was a sense of urgency in their movements, _desperation,_ even - like they both _knew_ what was before them, _knew_ what was in their near future, _knew_ they had to make this moment count.

Their lips brushed together again and again, chaste and so, _so_ gentle. Nico didn't want this to end, and by the way Will was gripping his jacket, he didn't either. Will was so soft and so warm and Nico couldn't remember the last time he felt this safe and secure with someone else. It was almost too much for him; his lungs were screaming for air, he could feel his hair standing on end, his cheek burned where Will had touched him.

Eventually, they broke apart, and their foreheads pressed together as they caught their breath.

"Nico," Will gasped, "if we make it out of this alive-"

"We're going to," Nico interrupted. "We _have_ to."

"-I want to watch the sunrise with you. I want to be by your side when it rises again for the first time."

Nico nodded, the movement rubbing their noses together. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Absolutely."

"I'm so scared, Nico."

"I know. I am too."

"I'm scared that we'll be destroyed by Nyx, that Chaos will rise and consume everything."

"Yeah. I won't let that happen, I can't lose anything else-"

"I can't lose you again-"

"I can't lose you either."

" _Gods,_ " Will gasped before bringing their mouths together again, burying his face in Nico's shoulder when they broke apart.

Nico's arms came up to circle around Will's neck, and he blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. If he had to be honest with himself, he was terrified - not only because of the threat looming over their heads, but also his role in all of this.

The prophecy had made itself loud and clear: he had to give himself to the darkness in order to ensure Nyx's defeat. He had to sacrifice everything, his family ties, his friendships and relationships, all of the hopes and dreams that lay deep within his core, his own livelihood.

A month ago, this wouldn't have been a big deal to him. He didn't care whether or not he lost himself to the shadows, and their pull had been so tempting, so enticing. But not now, now he had friends, he had _Will_ … the thought of having to leave them all behind broke his heart.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he drew the blond impossibly closer, and they silently held each other as they caught their breath.

"We're going to be okay, aren't we?" Will croaked once his breathing slowed.

Nico nuzzled his face into Will's neck, taking in his scent. "I don't know. I hope so. We'll do everything we can to take Nyx down, you have Helios' power behind you, and we have Mena too, and-"

"Is that going to be enough?"

"The prophecy, Will. We _have_ to fulfill it. _We just have to."_

How, Nico still wasn't sure of. He didn't want to think about it, not when he was still wrapped in Will's arms.

After what seemed like hours, Will finally loosened his embrace and pulled back to look Nico in the eyes. "Where are you sleeping tonight?"

"I'm bunking with Reyna," Nico replied, his hands coming to rest on Will's shoulders.

"I'm staying in the barracks with Cecil and Lou."

"You'll come and get me if you need anything, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I will."

"Good."

Will's hands slowly trailed down Nico's arms, causing the smaller boy to shiver. "I can walk you back if you want me to."

"No, I'll walk you," Nico protested. "We're closer to the barracks."

Will nodded in concession, and the two of them rose from the hard stone bench, making their way downhill with their fingers laced together.

* * *

Nico felt like he was floating.

Not the airy, light feeling that had overcome him when Will had kissed him, no, nothing like that. He was _literally_ floating.

Everything was dark, _too_ dark. Everything except for the sky, which shimmered with stars, galaxies glowing large and bright, illuminating just the very tops of the structures that stood below him.

Buildings?

His shoulder was screaming in pain.

But there didn't seem to be much he could do about it at the time, because suddenly there was a force pulling on him, tugging him down, deep, deep into the darkened city below.

Nico could barely see anything around him as the force jerked him around like a ragdoll, weaving between buildings, dodging street lamps and overpasses and sky-bridges connection the skyscrapers together, and all he could do was silently scream and clutch his shoulder in agony.

 _YOU._

A voice he had never heard before.

 _I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, CHILD._

A voice echoing through his mind, permeating his very being.

 _YOU WANT TO DEFEAT ME, DO YOU NOT? YOU WISH TO AWAKEN THE CHILDREN OF HYPERION AND BANISH ME BACK TO TARTARUS, CORRECT?_

It felt like every cell, every atom in his body was trying to rip itself apart. The voice, this impossibly powerful voice, had ignited and overloaded his senses, and Nico couldn't even tell if he existed anymore.

 _THEN COME FIND ME._

Suddenly, his body stopped moving, and everything went numb as he floated weightlessly in the darkness, gaping in terror.

Just as quickly as he'd slowed, he started to accelerate again, this time rising up, up, up, lifting so high and so fast that he could've crashed into the stars and made the universe go supernova.

After what felt like an eternity, after traveling what could've been nothing short of light-years, Nico's body stopped again, and he met a pair of eyes - a pair of eyes so bright that they were glowing quasars against the inky void of space.

The temperature dropped to absolute zero.

 _FIND ME NEAR THE GATEWAY._

Completely paralyzed, Nico could do nothing but stare at the figure before him; a churning figure of shadows as vast as the Athena Parthenos, wings made of dark matter and nebulae glowing within the figure's clothing. Beneath was a massive chariot of pure Stygian iron, drawn by horses that were practically invisible against their pitch-black backdrop.

 _I ISSUE THIS CHALLENGE TO YOU, SO-CALLED HERO. FIND ME NEAR THE GATEWAY SO THAT I CAN FEED YOU TO CHAOS AND ERASE YOUR PITIFUL EXISTENCE._

There was no question as to what this ethereal being was.

 _JUST_ TRY _TO BRING LIGHT BACK TO THIS WORLD. SHOW ME THE WORTHLESS_ POWERS _YOU HAVE AT YOUR DISPOSAL._

 _I WILL BE WAITING._

And, just like that, gravity took hold and Nico breathlessly plunged into the abyss.

* * *

The insurmountable agony seizing his body was what woke him up.

Nico opened his eyes to a dark room and felt the panic rising in his throat until he realized where he was: Reyna's suite in the praetors' hall at Camp Jupiter. He was laid out on a soft sofa with a blanket at his feet, but none of that mattered to him - the inconceivable pain coursing through him took the brunt of his focus.

 _The deeper the pain, the closer the fate._

It was time.

Disoriented by the fog of sleep clouding his mind, Nico pushed himself to his feet. As quietly as he could manage given his trembling gait - he didn't want to alert Reyna somehow - he made his way out of the suite, collecting his sword on the way.

Once he was outside, the cool, crisp air helped clear the fog from his head and bring him back down to Earth. His entire body ached as if he were being crushed by a hydraulic press, but still, he managed to press on, sprinting toward the barracks as fast as his legs could take him.

A voice caught him along the way: "di Angelo!"

He snapped his gaze toward the voice, only to find Mena running toward him, looking more distraught than he'd ever seen her.

"Nyx spoke to me," she gasped, coming to a stop in front of him.

"In- in a dream?" Nico wheezed incredulously.

Mena nodded from her bent position as she struggled to catch her breath. "Yes! She said to find her-"

"Near the gateway," he finished for her. "You saw that too?"

Straightening herself back up, Mena suppressed a cough with the sleeve of her jacket. "We have to find Solace. We have to _go_."

"He's staying in the barracks," Nico replied with a frantic nod, "let's go."

Will found them before they could even reach the barracks, hair rumpled and his clothes in a mess. "I saw Nyx-"

Nico cut him off. "So did we. It's time, Will, we have to leave right away."

"Any idea of where we're supposed to go?"

"Not yet. I'll call Jules-Albert, and we'll talk about it on the way out."

Mena turned her attention to Will. "Markowitz and Blackstone aren't awake, are they?"

Will shook his head. "No, they're still out. We- we shouldn't take them with us, should we?"

Nico shook his head, gripping his arm. "They'll just slow us down, and we can't afford to put anyone else in danger."

"He's right, it should only be us," Mena confirmed. If Nico weren't in so much pain, he would've been surprised that the Hunter had actually agreed with him on something. "The prophecy is about the three of us, the 'official' quest members. As much as we could use the backup, we'd be unnecessarily putting their lives at risk."

Inwardly, Nico couldn't help but think about what happened the first time he witnessed more than three people embarking on a quest together. Two of them hadn't made it back.

He involuntarily choked back a sob at the memory, and before he could pull himself together, his companions' focus settled on him.

"Nico, what's wrong?" Will asked, placing a hand on his arm - fortunately, not the one that was hurting. "You're pale as a sheet, much more than usual."

There was no time to think about it right now; Nico shook his head. "It's nothing."

"It's his shoulder," Mena guessed. "Remember, Moros stabbed him during their encounter. The more pain he's in, the closer Chaos is to rising."

"Shit," Will spat, tugging Nico close, feeling his forehead in an attempt to gauge his level of pain. "How bad is it?"

"I've had worse," Nico lied, "look, we can talk about it in the car. We can't waste any more time here than we have to."

The worried look on Will's face sent a jolt of guilt through Nico's heart. Even now, when they were in such immediate danger, the son of Apollo still tried to take care of him…

Nico didn't deserve someone as good as him.

But, Will seemed to be backing off for the time being, and before any other words were exchanged, the trio hastily headed for the outskirts of Camp Jupiter.

* * *

The minivan wasn't quite as roomy as the limousine had been. It was still a pretty decent size; there was more than enough room for the three of them to fit comfortably.

Despite this, Nico felt like he was suffocating, like he was back in the bronze jar.

Sure, there was plenty of space for him to move from where he was sitting next to Will - they were all situated on the middle row of the van, with Mena on Will's other side - but his bones still felt like they were in a vice grip, his muscles exploding, boiling lava coursing through his veins.

Will had attempted to heal him again, which had started to ease the pain, but Nico had protested: Will needed to be at full strength, because who knew what kinds of horrors were awaiting them?

"...so we've ruled out obvious landmarks like the Gateway Arch and the Golden Gate Bridge. There are a few small communities in California called Gateway, but they are _small_. I doubt that Nyx would care enough to settle in a place like that," Mena mused as she pored over a map.

"Yeah," Will agreed, "plus, the city in that dream was massive. It was too dark to see much of anything, but there were definitely skyscrapers and stuff."

"True. The whole 'gateway' thing is probably a metaphor anyway. We all know how much the gods love those."

Will turned to look at Nico, who had curled himself into a tight ball. "What do you think? You've been practically everywhere, Nico, got any idea of where we should be going?"

Nico heaved a shaky sigh, rubbing at his temples. "The best guess I have is Los Angeles. There's an entrance to the Underworld there, and Nyx is a chthonic deity, so it would make sense to make it her base of operation."

"Los Angeles is six hours from here," Mena commented. "Do you really think that's where we should go? We definitely don't want to waste time driving that far away if we should be going in the opposite direction instead. Let's not forget how far off-track we got when going through Arizona."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Will groaned with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, if we could just _not talk about that_ , that'd be pretty nice," said Nico. "And like I said, it seems most likely to me. She has a _really_ obvious presence, so we'll know when we've found her."

Will nodded in agreement. "In the dream… it felt like she was everywhere. Every _thing_ , like even the air felt like it was part of her being."

"Also, Charon's at the Underworld entrance. He's a son of Nyx, so we might be able to get some information out of him."

Mena hummed to herself, a contemplative look crossing her face, as if she were internally debating with herself. "Seems reasonable enough. You're the one with the Underworld instinct, so I guess that's as good a lead as any."

"Is that a compliment?"

"You wish."

"Ass."

"Brat."

The general mood surrounding the trio seemed to lighten up after their little exchange. Once Nico relayed the information about their destination to Jules-Albert, he finally felt like he could relax a bit. Of course, nothing could truly put his mind at rest; the dream still had him quite shaken up, and he was still gritting his teeth through the pain seizing his body, and the whole idea of fading into the shadows was definitely not helping, and…

He felt a nudge, and he looked up to meet Will's eyes.

"Hey," the blond said softly, "you doing okay?"

Nico fixed him with a deadpan stare. "Is that even a question, Solace?"

Will shrugged in response. "We're in for a bit of a drive. You should try and get some sleep, if you can."

Nico's killer headache was telling him otherwise. "Doubt I'll be able to."

"Well… you can still rest your body. You're super tense right now, and it could be a factor in why you're hurting so badly."

Quietly, Nico took a moment to study Will's face. The only light provided was the occasional street lamp, but Nico still saw him clearer than ever.

With a short nod, he slowly uncurled himself and scooted closer to Will, hesitantly bending his head down to rest on Will's shoulder. He felt a set of warm fingers thread through his own, and a pair of lips pressing into his hair.

The familiar warmth was incredibly soothing, and all Nico could do was sigh and let his eyes fall shut.

* * *

The pressure increased tenfold once they hit Los Angeles.

Nyx was definitely here.

But the most unnerving thing wasn't the pressure. It wasn't the sense of impending doom, it wasn't the pain that still gripped Nico's body, it wasn't the sensation of _sheer power_ that had his hairs standing on end.

It was that the entire city seemed to have sunk into a separate dimension. There were no traffic lights, no buildings lit, no headlights from other cars; in fact, there were no cars at all, no pedestrians on the street.

All that seemed to exist was darkness.

Fortunately, Jules-Albert's sense of direction was so finely tuned that even with the light that they _did_ have, he was still able to navigate the empty streets with ease.

Before long, they were pulling up to DOA Recording Studios, better known as one of the main entrances to the Underworld.

Once Nico stepped out of the minivan, his senses ignited. His skin was tingling as if he'd been hit by lightning, and it was further compounded by how absolutely _still_ the air was. There was no wind and no real temperature to speak of, there was a surreal sense of staleness, of _stagnancy_ , like the city was an entirely separate realm with no atmosphere or no _life_.

Nico was beyond petrified.

"It's like nothing even exists here," Will quietly observed as he took in his surroundings. Just like in their mutual dream, the only light that was present came from the dazzling sky above, shimmering like someone had spilled glitter on their black-and-blue canvas.

Mena was shivering, uncharacteristically nervous. "I- I can't feel the moon. All I can feel is Night, she's everywhere, she's everything."

"Come on," Nico prompted, as he pulled the studio doors open.

There were no souls waiting to cross the Styx. On the elevator was a sign reading _Out of Service_. Charon didn't even seem to be around.

Nico shook his head in disbelief. "This isn't good. This is _not_ good."

He could hear Will swallow heavily. "Where's Charon? Shouldn't he be here to… you know, ship people down to Hades?"

"Yeah, he should. But he's not." A sense of urgency fell over Nico as he began to explore the room, looking for any signs of the ferryman. But, just as it was outside, there were no signs of life (or death) to be found.

A sudden gasp pierced the silence, and Nico just about jumped out of his skin.

"Solace, di Angelo, come over here and look at this," Mena whispered from behind Charon's podium.

The two boys huddled around the Hunter, the soft silver glow emanating from her body casting just enough light to see her discovery.

It was a note, written in fine cursive on a sheet of cute Cerberus stationery.

 _Master Nico,_

 _Mother has come, and I fear that the worst is imminent. Therefore, I have sequestered myself in the Underworld for the time being; I have no doubt that her presence, as strong as it is, would have some… negative effects on my state of being._

 _So, for your safety, as well as the prevention of Lord Hades firing me for accidentally killing you, I cannot be here to intercept you and your party._

 _Regards,  
Charon, God of Boundaries and Territories, Ferryman to the River Styx_

 _P.S. Tell your father I want a raise._

 _P.P.S. You want to know where to find Mother? Well, consider the domain of her fallen sister Gaea, and consider the domain of which Mother is in control of. You're a smart boy, you'll figure it out._

 _P.P.P.S. This information will cost you five (5) drachmas._

Tugging the paper from Mena's grip, Nico focused on the print at the bottom. " _Consider the domain of her fallen sister Gaea,_ and then Nyx's domain…"

The second he uttered her name, the whole building shuddered.

Will yelped and held on to the podium to keep himself steady. "Yeah, I don't think now's the best time to actually say her name."

"So, what does he mean?" Mena asked. "How was Gaea taken down?"

"Leo scooped her up with his bronze dragon and pulled up into the sky. Once she was lifted from the earth, she was heavily weakened," Nico explained. "So if the Earth is Gaea's domain…"

"Then the sky is Ny- Night's."

Will tapped his chin, seemingly deep in thought. "Nico, what's the tallest building in the city? Do you know?"

Nico nodded. "The US Bank Tower. There's a taller one, but it's still under construction, so we won't be able to access it."

"So she'll likely be up at the top of the building," Mena muttered, "where she's the closest to the sky. Her domain."

"Alright, let's move out," Will suggested, dropping a handful of drachmas onto the podium. "There's no time to lose."

It didn't take long to reach the tower after leaving the studio.

The three of them stood on the sidewalk near the entrance, looking up at the pitch-black structure looming over them. The sky above held a very heavy concentration of stars, heavier than any other portion of the sky.

And there, at the top, Nyx was waiting.

Will took a deep breath, forming a few orbs of light with which to see by. "You guys ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Nico replied.

Mena narrowed her eyes, her expression firm as steel. "Let's finish this."

They took the plunge.

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay.

So.

The next chapter will probably take quite a while for me to get out. We have two major battles in store, and I don't know how long they're going to end up. So, if it takes a few months for me to get it out - mental health permitting - then that's why. I'm going to try and get at least a few illustrations done in that time span, but I can't promise anything will be out in a timely manner, so please be patient with me. I'll keep you posted.

After the next chapter, there will be one more full one and then an epilogue.

Also, I want to thank each and every person who has stuck it out this far. You're all amazing, and I couldn't have done this without your support.

So, as Mena says, let's finish this. :)

P.S. _**NO DARK PROPHECY SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!**_ Yes, I've read it, and yes, I enjoyed it very much, but please, for the sake of those who have yet to read it, don't post spoilers or else I'll be sad and probably cry.

P.P.S. Lou Ellen's surname, Blackstone, was revealed in CHB Confidential, just in case you were curious. :D


End file.
